Newsie is a Beast!
by Late Night Muses
Summary: FINISHED! One of the newsies is injured in a factory accident. When he wakes up and sees his disfigured face he decides to leave town, but his best friend won't let him go alone. This is the story of their adventure. "Beauty and the Beast" newsie style!
1. Default Chapter

**Newsie**** is a Beast**

**Chapter 1:**

Once upon a time on a dark street in Brooklyn walked a young man. He kept to the shadows trying to hide his disfigured face. It was ugly. He was ashamed. He hadn't been home since it had happened... just a week ago. He couldn't let them see. It was best he leave town.  He would only frighten most of them anyway.

He stood near a building corner, waiting for a carriage to pass. When all was safe, he stepped out onto the street.

"Spot... is that you?" a voice called out from behind him.

"No, it's not Rae. Go back home." he said, lowering his head to hide his face.

"Yes it is, otherwise you wouldn't have known my voice. Where have you been? The entire lodging house has been looking for you."

"I'm leaving Rae.  Tell everyone goodbye for me."

"Just one minute mister, where do you think you're going?!" She followed him as he walked ahead of her down the street, around the corner, down the next street. "Get back here! I deserve some explanations!" She finally caught up with him and grabbed his arm.  She turned him around and gasped in horror.

Shoving her back, Spot threw his arms over his face. "I told you not to look!" he yelled gruffly and turned, hurrying away.

"Spot!" she yelled, running after him, tears falling down her face. "Wait up!"

"Get away from me, Rae! I'm a freak!"

"Spot, I thought our friendship meant more than that.  If you think I'm going to run screaming because of a few scars you better think again.  True friends don't desert one another in times like this."

Spot kept his back to her. "It's not that.... Well, not exactly. I'm... I'm ashamed of this, Rae. This is not how I want to be feared. I want to be feared because people think I'm strong and smart, and I'm respected. Not because I look like... a monster or something!"

"Leave town if you feel you must, but I'm going with you."

"You are NOT coming with me." He shook his head firmly. "You have a life here. And friends. I don't want you leaving them just because I'm leaving."

"What do I have to say to get it through that think skull of yours?  I'm not turning my back on you like I can guarantee everyone else will.  If they can do that to someone they claimed as a friend, they are no friends of mine."

"That... wasn't helping much, Rae," he grunted.

"I'm going with you Spot and you can't stop me."

He sighed. "No, I guess I can't."

"Any idea where we're going to go?" she asked, staring into his eyes.

"Somewhere else?"

"Where?  Surely you've thought this through?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, casting his eyes away. "Uh... not exactly..."

"Why don't we hope a train and find a small town somewhere.  That would be the best place to hide out.  Maybe we can find an abandoned house."

"Yeah, like that'll happen. Some house is just going to be ... magically abandoned." He waved his fingers around for effect and then his shoulders slumped as he sighed. "Nothin' ever goes my way."

"It's worth a try, Spot.  Let's just go to the station and hop a train and just see where it takes us."

He thought on it a moment, sighed again, and nodded in consent. "After all, how much could it hurt?"

"Good." she said, heading for the station. "Do me a favor."

"What?" He trotted after her, nervously casting his eyes right and left, on the lookout for anyone who knew him.

"Stop callin' yourself a monster and a freak.  I've known ya since we was kids. Ya ain't no monster."

"Well I look like one," he muttered.

"You may look like one, but ya ain't one." she said, grinning at him.

He made a face as they crossed over the train yards. "There's a train there..." He pointed across the yard. "And an open car..."

"Great!" she said, sprinting across the yard and climbing into the car.  She settled into the hay spread in the car. "Wake me up when you decide ya wanna get off."

"Oh, so leave that up to me... I'm more tired than you!"

"Aw, shut it, Conlon." she said with a yawn.

"Women," he replied, burrowing into the hay a few feet away from her.

* * *

Rae was suddenly brought out of her sleep when the train pulled to a stop. "Shoot." she yelled, jumping to her feet.  "Conlon, if ya don't get up now, ya got a one way ticket to the local jail."

Spot mumbled incoherently, limply waving his hand at her and rolled onto his other side.

Rae glanced around the car before her eyes settled on a bucket of water.  Grinning, she picked it up and stood over Spot.  "Good morning, Sunshine." she said cheerfully just seconds before she dumped the water on him.

Lurching awake, arms flying, curses firing, he glared at her. "That was COLD!"

"The cell you'll be staying in if the bulls catch us will be even colder. LET'S GO!" she said, dropping the bucket and heading for the door.

Spot scrambled to his feet and went after her, muttering something about "stupid bulls", and almost jumped out of the car when he ran into Rae. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"Shut it! The bulls are heading right this way!"

"Then let's get a move on it." he said, pushing her.

"You think we can out run them? They aren't fat slobs. These guys look rough."

He snuck a peek out the door. "Ok, so I don't think we can outrun these guys.  What to do? What to do?"

"Hide in a dark corner and pray for our lives?" she replied. Spot rolled his eyes. "Then why don't you come up with something better?"

He looked around.  "Come here." he said, pulling her behind some crates that had been left in the car.  He sat down and pulled her down beside him. "Now be quiet."

"I know how to hide, Conlon," she whispered, shaking her head.

"I could have sworn I saw something in here." one of the bulls said.

The other one climbed in. "Well, it can't hurt to take a look."

Rae stuck the tip of her thumb in her mouth and bit down on it, as she glanced over at Spot.

Spot took careful aim with his slingshot and cleanly shot a marble out the door.

The cops whirled. "What was that?" the one in the car asked, climbing back out. The other shrugged. "Let's go check it out."

Rae sighed with relief after they had gone.  "Thank you." she whispered.

"Hey. I ain't Spot Conlon for nothing." He grinned, sticking his slingshot back into his pocket.

Rae ignored his comment and jumped from the car.

Scrambling from the car, he followed, landed a bit unsteadily, but managed to catch himself before he fell. "Let's get goin' before they come back."

Rae nodded and ran for the nearby woods.  Once in the safety of the woods she turned to him.  "I noticed a road that way.  Shall we see where it leads or just wander through the woods?"

"We may as well follow the road. 'Less we wanna get killed by some wild animal..." He sighed rather unhappily.

"We can still stay in the woods and follow the road if ya don't wanna be seen by anyone."

Nodding, he motioned for her to go ahead. "Lead the way."

They wandered through the woods for some time before Rae stopped and pointed across the road. "Look!" she said.

Spot followed her finger and saw two neat stacks of bricks on either side of a rusty gate.  "Want to go see what's back there?" he asked.

"Got nothin' better to do." Together, they slowly pushed open the heavy iron gates and walked through them. "Wow..."

Just out of sight from the road stood a three-story house.  The paint had faded to the point that you could no longer tell the original color and the yard was overgrown with brush and brambles.  A large porch graced the front of the house and four large columns stood guard as if daring them to approach the house.

"Well..." Spot swallowed hard and tilted his head. "Looks like we found that abandoned house you was talking about."

"I wasn't really expecting to find it though.  At least not one that looked like this." she said, almost as if in a daze.

"Well... we did..." He gazed around, inquisitive, awestruck. "Who'd just leave a house here?"

"I don't know.  Let's do take a look around." She slowly climbed the porch steps and opened the door.  Just inside the door was a staircase leading up to the upper floors.  The wallpaper in the entry and in the rooms off of it was faded, cracked and peeling.  White sheets covered the furniture, making small white mountains in the otherwise drab room.

Curious, Spot crossed the room and pulled a sheet off one of the pieces of furniture, coughing at the cloud of dust that exploded off of it. "Well, someone ain't been doin' their job."

"I don't think anyone has been doin' anythin' in here for a few years, Conlon." she said.

"I reckoned that already," he grumbled. He continued to inspect the first floor. "Well... I think we have a new home."

All of the doors on the first floor were open except for one.  They slowly made their way toward it and Spot turned the knob.  It was locked.  Making a face, he gently tapped on the door. "Hey... is someone in here?"

"I don't think so." Rae said kneeling down to examine the lock.

"Think you can pick it?" he asked, crouching next to her.

"'Course I can. Just give me somethin' to pick it with."

Spot glanced at the door again. "Um... do we really wanna know WHY it's locked?"

Rae thought for a minute. "Yes. I do.  If we're gonna be staying here, I want to know."

"What if it's dead bodies?" he asked mysteriously, waving his fingers in front of her face. "Or worse... the living dead!"

She rolled her eyes and elbowed him.  "Just give me something to pick this lock!"

Spot winced, rubbing his side, and rifled through his pockets. "I don't have anything... Aren't you girls supposed to have hairpins or something?"

Rae sighed and reached to pull a pin from her hair, causing small strand of hair to fall into her eyes.  She glared at him before turning to pick the lock. When the lock finally clicked, she turned the knob and opened the door. Spot followed her in.

A large desk filled the middle of the room and two of the walls were covered in bookshelves full of books.  A third wall was covered in windows looking out into what used to be a garden.

"Wow..." Spot passed Rae and touched the dusty desk. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here in... years..." He looked out the window. "Kinda weird... the silence, I mean."

Rae walked around to the back of the desk and sat in the chair. "I know. It's kinda freaky." She opened the top drawer and began to dig through it.

He pulled himself away from the window and began pulling books off the shelf. "Wow... I haven't even heard of any of these.... not that it's any surprise... Whatcha lookin' for?"

"Something. Anything.  Maybe some clue as to who owned this house. Or what happened to them."

With a vague nod, Spot opened up the drawer next to her. "Holy... look at that!"

Rae's eyes widened in shock and she gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"

Spot pulled out a handful of wrapped bills, waving it under his nose. "It looks like money, feels like money, SMELLS like money... I'm going with it IS money!"

Rae pulled out another handful and began to count it.  After a moment she stopped. "Spot, we're rich!"

Spot had already pulled out another handful. "You bet we are..." Awestruck he plopped onto the edge of the desk. "I... I never saw this much money in my entire life!"

"What are we going to do with all of this? We can't just leave it  lying around." she asked, leaning back in the chair.

"Well..." He waved a stack around absently. "We can live off of it... We're going to need SOMETHING to live off of, anyway. I mean... figuring that the owners of this place just don't show up one day."

"So we just leave it in the drawer until we need it." She said, placing the bundles in her hand back in the drawer.  "Let's go finish looking around the place and then we'll make a list of things we need. I'll go back to that small town and pick them up."

With a nod, Spot followed her suit. "I figure... I figure we could live the rest of our lives on that."

They walked back out into the entry and toward the stairs.  Rae carefully placed her foot on the first step.  "I hope this thing holds." she whispered.

"If it doesn't, I'll be sure to throw you a proper funeral," he teased.

"Thanks a lot, Conlon." she said, rolling her eyes.  She ignored the uneasy feeling that the steps were going to cave in and ran the rest of the way up.

He followed, glancing uncertainly at the steps when they creaked loudly beneath his feet. Yes, it did sound like they were going to cave. Shaking his head, he pushed the worries aside and entered the nearest room on his right.

The room was massive.  Nearly as big as the bunkroom back in Brooklyn.  A huge four-poster bed set between two large windows.

"I think I found my room," he said with a grin. He pushed aside a heavy curtain and rubbed the dirt off the window to look out it. Land, green land, spread out far, lined with luxurious trees. "And I thought Central Park was nice..."

"HEY SPOT! Come check this out." Rae yelled from the other side of the house.

Dropping the edge of the curtain, he ran into the room across the hall. "What?"

She was standing at the window of another massive bedroom.  It was easy to tell that this room had been a woman's room, from the lacy curtains to the dresses in the open wardrobe.  He walked over to the window and looked out.  "I could have sworn I saw movement out there at that old barn."

"Maybe it was just an animal?" he suggested.

She shivered. "I hope so.  This house is starting to give me the creeps."

Spot nodded off-handedly, heading towards the armoire and rifling through it. "Hmm... some very nice clothes... what is this? I've never seen girls wear-"

"Spot Colon put that down, that's women's underclothes!"

He dropped it and grinned. "Well, well... some pretty fancy stuff you girls wear."

"Shut it. Shut it now."

He laughed and shut the drawer.  Rae stormed over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him from the room. "Let's finish exploring."

Spot's chuckles faded away finally as they reached another door. Opening it, he discovered another flight of stairs. "There's more?!"

"It too dark to go up there.  Go find a lamp or something." she whispered, staring into the darkness at the top of the stairs.

"Why don't you?"

She gave him a look.

"Oh, all right... where should I get one from?"

"Try checking that library."

Spot left and returned a moment later to find Rae standing in the exact same place he had left her.  Lighting the small lantern he had found he led the way up the steep and narrow stairs.  On the top floor they found several small rooms with sparse furnishings.  Each room contained a single bed, not much better than a co, a small bedside table where a lantern sat and a small dresser.

"Reminds me of the lodging house... only single rooms, instead of one whole room... Who do you think slept up here?"

"Considering how wealthy it appears this family was I'd say the servants slept here." Rae answered.  "But there's no clothes or anything up here. Not even bedding...but in those rooms downstairs..."

"You think the servants went on strike?" He tried to crack a grin but it was of no avail.

She sent him a look.  "Let's just go back downstairs. I'll grab some money and we can head to town and get something to eat."

"With this face?"

She put her hands up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Spot. I forgot." she whispered.

He sighed. "It's okay... I almost forgot myself." Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, "Well, should we have a look around outside?"

"I guess we could go take a look at that barn." she said, hesitantly.

"I'm sure it was just an animal you saw..." He jerked his head towards the staircase. "Well, let's go."

They walked to the barn and threw open the doors.  Light quickly flooded the dark interior and Spot thought he saw movement in the shadows in the far corner of the barn.

'A dog?' he wondered. Motioning to Rae to follow, who looked far more content to wait outside for him, he headed deeper in. "Someone in here?" he asked uncertainly, hoping to hear the whimper.. or growl even.. of a dog.

He was shocked to find not a dog, but two small children huddled up together, staring up at him in terror.  He quickly stepped back and turned his head.  "Rae, get over here, now!"

"What is it?" She peeked in. "What are you yelling about..."

"Just get over here.  I need your help!" he ordered.

The two children yelped in terror.

Rae scrambled in. "What's going on...?" She paused next to him and, as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw them. 

She gasped.  "What are you two doing in here?"

"We just... we just..." the girl started to gasp and she burst into tears.

"We're sorryyyy," the little boy next to her wailed.

Rae knelt down in front of them and pulled the little girl into her arms. "Shhh!  What are your names?" she asked, her tone much softer than before.

"You... you ain't gonna hurt us?" she sniffled.

"No, sweetheart.  We wouldn't hurt you." she said, stroking the girl's matted and tangled hair.

"We was... we was just sleepin' here... We didn't mean no harm..." the boy rambled. "We didn't know someone lived here."

"Where are your parents, kid?" Spot asked, from where he stood, hidden in the shadows.

"We... we don't know sir. Please don't make us go to the orphan place."

Rae sent a nervous glance in Spot's direction.  "We won't make you. We have plenty of room here. You can stay with us."

"You mean it?" the little girl asked hopefully.

"I sure do." Rae said, hugging her close.

"Who.. who are you? Did... you live here before?" the boy asked.

"We just got here today." Spot answered gruffly, upset that Rae had told these children that they could stay.

Spot grabbed her arm and drug her out of the barn. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he yelled.  "There is no way those kids can stay!"

"And why not!" she yelled back. "It's obvious they have no where to go!"

"I don't want to have to deal with them screaming and crying every time they see me.  It just won't work."

"They'll get used to you. Kids adjust!" Rae folded her arms over her chest. "You're so concerned about your dumb image."

"You would be too if you looked like this." he stated.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't."

He growled in frustration and stormed back toward the house.

After rolling her eyes again, she headed back into the barn where the children were huddled. "Come on. Would you like to come in the house?"

"We heard you yelling..." The girl replied, looking at Rae with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart." Rae said, kneeling in front of the small children.  "He's just mad at me."

"Is it 'cause of us?" the boy asked. Beside him, his sister was about to fall asleep.

"No." Rae whispered gathering the tiny girl in her arms.  "It's more than that." The little boy latched onto her hand and Rae led them over to the house. "What are your names?" she asked him.

"I'm Andy." he said.  "My sister's name is Ann."

She smiled. "I'm Rae. The boy with me was Spot. He's a lot nicer than he sounds."

"Are you sure?" Andy asked nervously.

Rae laughed gently. "Of course I'm sure. I've known him most of my life."

Andy nodded. 

"Are you hungry?" Rae asked as she opened the back door to the house.

Vigorously, he nodded again. And then he shrieked in terror and hid behind Rae.

"What's the matter?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.  She turned back around and saw Spot standing in the kitchen. And he didn't look pleased. Andy started to cry.

"See? See? I told you! I told you it'd scare them!"

"If you don't stop yelling, you'll scare them more, Spot Colon," she scolded.

She handed him the sleeping girl and turned to pick up the crying boy.  "It's alright Andy." she cooed, rubbing his back.

Andy sniffled. "Who is that?! And why is he here? Is he mean?"

"That's Spot, sweetheart.  And he's not mean." she said, sending Spot a look.

Spot carefully approached the boy and knelt down before him. "Hi kid. I'm Spot Conlon... I met you in the barn."

Andy cocked his head to the side and stared at Spot curiously. "What happened to your face?" he asked.

"I got in an accident, kid, in a factory," he explained.

"Oh.  Ok." Andy said. He looked up at Rae who was now holding Ann again.  "When can I eat?"

Rae gave Spot a pointed look, as if to say "See, I told you so" and took Andy's hand. "As soon as we find some food in this house! Or go to town to get some..."

"I'm not going into town Rae Kelly!" Spot said, following her as she carried the sleeping child upstairs.

"No one said you had to, bonehead." Rae shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I can buy food on my own."

"Then snap to it.  The kid and I are getting hungry."

Rae arched a brow. "If I wasn't holding Ann here, you would SO be dead right now. For future reference I am NOT your serving woman."

"I KNOW THAT.  But you don't expect the kid to walk all the way back into town to get some food do you?"

"Of course I don't expect it. But don't tell me to snap to it!"

"If you would go then I wouldn't have to say it."

Rae sighed, frustrated. She needed sleep. Sleep was good. Sleep was away from Spot. Good good good.... Heading into the parlor, she put Ann down on one of the couches, took a couple of bills from the study and walked up the stairs.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Spot yelled as she headed for the room that she had claimed earlier.

"YOU DON'T EXPECT ME TO GO TO TOWN LOOKING LIKE THIS DO YOU?" she yelled back, slamming the door to her room.

She shook her head. "Jeez! Men these days!" She quickly looked through the dresses hanging in the wardrobe and picked out what appeared to be the plainest. She slipped out of her clothes and into the dress.  Standing in front of the mirror she stared at herself in shock.  She liked what she saw.  She could get used to this.  The pale green dress fit her perfectly. She pulled her hair down from it's braid and allowed it to fall it's full length to her waist.  Picking up a hairbrush from the dressing table she quickly brushed her hair.  Throwing the brush back on the table she decided to leave her hair down and left the room.

Spot looked up and stared as Rae walked into the room. "Wow... Rae, you look like a girl!"

"Great!" Rae said looking at the ceiling. "I would get stuck with Mr. Brilliant."

Spot rolled his eyes. "Aw, shut it Rae."

Rae shook her head.  "I don't know how long I'll be gone, so don't worry about me.  Just keep Ann and Andy out of trouble.  Or just maybe you can get them to take baths and clean up a bit." she suggested.

He pointed to the children. "They're dead asleep."

"See what you can do with them when they wake up." she said, heading for the door.

"Aye, aye captain." He saluted her.

She rolled her eyes and closed the door.

* * *

Rae blinked and glanced around. This was not the type of town she was expecting. She had intended on seeing another New York: ugly, dirty, and smelly. But instead, this town she reached was small, beautiful, and GREEN! With a smile and a slight bounce in her step she set out to find the nearest grocer's.

'No homeless orphans on the street, no horse poo, no bulls chasing around even fleas; I must be in heaven!' she thought, walking into the store. She walked around the store trying to decide what items they would need.  She had not had much luck cooking in the past, but she was determined to try again.

"Can I help you?" a clerk asked.

"Yes... do you have anything... simple... to cook?"

The clerk burst into giggles, catching the attention of a woman nearby.   "Now, Tom, be nice to the lady." she said.

"Thank you." Rae replied smiling at her.  "I...My brothers and sister and I just moved here and I've never had to do the shopping before.  I have no clue what to get."

The woman smiled. "Of course. I know just the things."

Rae sent a murderous glare in the clerk's direction before following the woman around the store.

Once finished with her purchases, Rae was lucky to find a ride back to the old house with a farmer.  She had him stop before he actually got to the gate and she waited in the woods until the farmer had driven out of site before heading toward the rusty gate and the old house.

She kicked the door, unable to knock because her hands were full, and hefted off half her load to Spot when he finally opened the door. 

"Where have you been?" he demanded.  "We are starving!"

Rae sighed. "It's a long walk. If you're so hungry, go get the food yourself next time."

"No... no..." He took the remaining bags from her and headed into the house.

"Then stop whining.  Where are Ann and Andy?" she asked as she began to unpack the groceries.

"They should be playing in the parlor."

"Did you manage to get at least one layer of dirt off of them?"

"Ann, yes. Andy..." He grinned. "We boys thrive off of dirt."

Rae rolled her eyes.  "Once I get this house clean, that dirt better stay outside."

"This is my house more than it is yours. Remember, you chose to tag along." Spot examined a loaf of bread. 

"Maybe I should have left you wandering the streets of Brooklyn, hiding from all of creation."

"Maybe you should have." He shoved the loaf into a cupboard and continued to unload the groceries.

She laughed suddenly.  "Why do we fight again?"

"Because we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we didn't." Spot grinned and lobbed an apple at her.

She caught it.  "Guess not."  She turned and placed in it a bowl that she had pulled from the cupboard.  "I guess I'll get started cooking.  Go keep Ann and Andy busy while I fix dinner."

Arching a brow, he said, "Should I get the fire department?" before leaving the room.

She picked the apple back up and threw it at him just as he closed the door.  The apple hit the door and went in a million directions.

Spot, hearing the apple smack on the door and Rae grunt in frustration, laughed and headed over to Ann and Andy.

Some time later he was playing a game with Ann and Andy when he thought he smelled something burning.  

"'Scuse me," he told them, scrambled to his feet, and ran to the kitchen. "Rae, I was only kidding about the fire department! You didn't actually have to set the dang house on fire!"

She was nervously wringing her hands and watching the pan that she had thrown in the sink burn.  "I didn't mean to burn it."

"Well put it out, why don't you?!" He threw some rags in the tub the children had washed in- or pretended to, anyway- and then threw them onto the pan.

            "I tried to" she whined.  She suddenly burst into tears and ran from the room and up the stairs.

Spot sighed and threw another wet rag onto the smoldering mess. He watched it for a moment, brooding. He'd never seen Rae totally lose it like that before. Granted, maybe he hadn't gone about dealing with the fire situation in the nicest way possible, but that was how he was! He harrumphed. Now he had to explain himself to.... himself!

Satisfied the fire was out and done, he left the kitchen, told the children he would return momentarily, and headed up the stairs. He knocked on the door of her room and when he didn't hear an answer he slowly opened the door.  He saw Rae sitting on the floor in front of the window, her face buried in the pillows on the window seat.

Rae's shoulders jerked, startled, but she didn't lift her head. "Go 'way Spot."

"Alright. Who are you, and what have you done with Rae?"

"Just go 'way and leave me alone." she muttered.

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I'm staying 'til I get an answer from you."

"I'm just frustrated alright? Go away."

Spot persisted anyway. "About what."

"You and that stupid clerk at the store."

He folded his arms over his chest. "What did -I- do?! And what stupid clerk?"

"You were making comments about me burning things and he just laughed."

Spot rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't know anything about that clerk, but I know that YOU were the one who was griping about burning things. How was I supposed to know it was your sore spot?"

"I don't know, ok." She sat up and dried her tears. "What are we going to eat? Because if you think I'm going back into that kitchen you can just think again."

"Bread and fruit- you bought those and they don't need to be cooked." He shrugged. "Face it Kelly. One of these days you'll have to go back in there because one of these days some man will want to marry you and you'll have to cook for him."

"Who would want to marry me?"

Spot wiggled his eyebrows. "I know a certain southern fellow back in New York would."

She snorted. "He sure has a funny way of showing.  Running back home without telling anyone."

He rolled his eyes. "You sure are hard to please, aren't you?"

She glared at him. "Just go eat your bread and fruit and leave me alone."

"One day you'll see I'm right, Kelly. I always am." Turning, he strutted from the room.

She didn't know how long she sat there brooding, but the smell of slightly burnt food brought her from her thoughts. Curious now- it didn't smell as burned as when she had cooked- she ventured down the stairs. She passed Ann and Andy who were playing a game of memory in the parlor and walked into the kitchen. "Tell me I'm dreaming." she said, stopping in the doorway. She rocked back onto her heels and burst out into a fit of giggles. "Spot Conlon.... What.... what are you WEARING?!"

"What does it look like?" he said, glaring at her.

She leaned against the wall, giggling harder. "It looks like a frilly white apron! Why on EARTH are you wearing it?!"

"The girl threw a fit, so I put it on to shut her up."

Rae continued giggling. Spot waved his fork at her threateningly. "Knock it off!"

"It really suits you Spot." she said, giggling harder, if that was even possible. "You should wear it more often."

He rolled his eyes. "Only in your dreams, Kelly, only in your dreams."

"You'll have to wear it when we go back to Brooklyn.  I'm going to have to write the boys about this one.  Maybe I'll tell them to come see the sight for themselves."

Spot grabbed her arm as she headed out the door. "You do and you die!"

"Oh yeah? I'm not afraid of you, Spot."

"You better have the courage to back that up, Kelly."

"Of course I do, apron boy. I'm not afraid of you."

"Those are fighting words."

Rae burst into giggles again. "Uh uh.... I don't think it would be fair."

"Oh you don't?"

"No." She shook her head giggling harder. "You'd win 'cause I'm laughing too hard at your apron to fight!"

He glared at her.  "Come eat kids!" he yelled, still glaring at her as they ran past them.

Ann and Andy plopped down immediately at the table and waited to be served. As soon as Spot had dumped food onto their plates, it was gone. Spot was the first to sample his food with enough patience to swallow it carefully. His face paled and he pursed his lips. "Well.... I've had worse... I think..."

Rae took a bite. "At least it's better than my burnt food." she offered.

"Well, you're right about that."

"Can we have more?" Andy and Ann chirped simultaneously, holding out their plates.

As Spot dished more food onto their plates Rae stood and carried her plate to the counter, having not taken more than a few bites.

"I told you it was disgusting," Spot muttered, nodding towards the plate.

"It was fine. I just lost my appetite." she said with a sigh.  She looked at the two thin children. "How long do you think it's been since they last ate?"

Spot looked at them, smirking as they piled more food onto their plates themselves. "A week... maybe two? Who knows..."

Rae nodded.  "I'm going upstairs to make sure the beds are ready to be slept in and to find them something else to wear to bed."

Spot glanced back at them. "Good luck at calming them down. With all that food in them, I reckon they'll be running around for the next few hours..."

She groaned and sank to the floor.  "It's dark out. Time for them to sleep."

"You try to tell them that."

Ann and Andy had left the table and were chasing each other around the house, screaming wildly. The screaming was beginning to get on his nerves.

Rae rubbed her forehead for a minute.  "Ann, Andy, come here." she said, somewhat roughly.

Ann stopped and yelped when Andy crashed into her. Obediently- albeit somewhat nervously- they scurried over to Rae.

"It's time to go to sleep." she said slowly. "Got it?"

Silently, they simultaneously wiped their noses and nodded. "Yes ma'am," they whispered.

"Good." she said standing.  Looking at Spot, she said. "If you clean the kitchen I'll get them to sleep."

"Sure, leave me with the mess." But he did so anyway, because that was just what he had been intending to suggest.

Rae led the twins upstairs and into the room that Spot had claimed.  Digging around in the drawers of the dresser she managed to find to rather plain shirts.  "I think these will work, kiddos." she said.

Ann and Andy looked at one another and then her. "Really, Miss Rae?"

She laughed. "Yep." She led them into her room and sat on the window seat. "Let get you two changed."

Nodding, they changed and headed over to her. "Where are we gonna sleep, Miss Rae?" Andy asked, scratching his head absently.

"Well. There are two empty rooms, so you can each have your own room or you can share one." she answered.

"Own rooms," Andy replied, trying to sound brave.

"Noooo!" Ann wailed. "I don't want my own room!"

Andy looked from Rae to his sister.  He sighed and hugged her. "Ok, Ann. We'll share."

With a smile, Rae took their hands and led them down the hall. "Now, if either of you need anything, come get Spot or me, okay?"

"Okay." They said.

Rae lifted first one and then the other into the big bed and pulled the quilt over them. "Goodnight, sweethearts." she said, placing a kiss on each dirty forehead.

"Night Miss Rae," they replied simultaneously. Moments later, Andy snuggled down and fell immediately asleep. After glancing at him and then Rae, she wiggled deeper beneath the blankets and closed her eyes.

Rae smiled slightly as she blew out the candle and left the room.   She walked down the stairs and stuck her head in the kitchen.  "Spot, they're sleeping. I'm going to bed."

Spot nodded. "All right then. I think I'll be going to bed once I'm done with this." He held up the pan that she had burned her earlier attempts at cooking in.

She sent him an apologetic look before heading back up to her room.  She slipped out of her clothes and into one of the clean nightgowns before crawling into the big bed.  She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

            The door to Rae's bedroom squeaked open and a tiny form crept in. Pulling herself awkwardly onto Rae's bed, Ann gently shook her shoulder. "Miss Rae.... Miss Rae?"

A single tear rolled down her face when she couldn't get Rae to wake up.  With a sniffle she slowly slid off the big bed.  She walked down the hallway as one would walk to their death.

She sniffled and then paused near another door. Was this where Mr. Spot was sleeping? After a moment, she slowly opened the door and peeped in. "Mr. Spot?" She crept further in, approaching the bed in the center of the room. "Mr. Spot?" She cautiously crawled onto the edge of the bed. "Mr. Spot?" she said a little bit louder.

Spot mumbled incoherently and flopped over in his bed. "Who'zere?" he asked drowsily.

Ann shrieked and slid off the bed in tears.

Spot jerked awake, startled. "What? What?" He glanced in the direction of the wailing. "Ann? Is that you?"

She sobbed louder and attempted to run from the room, but tripped on the hem of the huge shirt she was wearing.

Hastily, Spot scrambled from his bed. "Hey, hey, what's the matter?" He crouched down next to me. "Are you afraid of me?"

She nodded vigorously, huge tears rolling down her cheeks.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," he said firmly.

She whimpered suddenly and began sobbing again.

Spot put his arm around her. "Want to tell good ol' Spot Conlon what the matter is?"

"I can't get Miss Rae to wake up." She whimpered

Spot smiled. "She could sleep through anything. Is there something else you wanted to tell me? I can be just as helpful as Rae.... I think..."

"I had a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked up at him and shook her head.

"Are you sure?" 

She whispered something that he couldn't hear.  "What was that?" he asked.

Ann sniffled. "It was 'bout you Mr. Spot..."

Spot closed his eyes. He should have guessed this. He sighed.  "I'm sorry that I scared you, Ann.  I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

"You promise?"

"Yes. I promise."

"I don't want to go back to sleep.  That bad dream might come back." She said, as fresh tears rolled down her face.

Spot took her in his arms uncertainly and stroked her hair. "You can sleep with Miss Rae or me, if you want to."

She sniffled and looked up into his scarred face. "Can I sleep with you Mr. Spot?"

After a pause, he nodded. "If you want to."

"Do you want me to go sleep with Miss Rae?"

"Whatever won't scare you is fine with me."

"You won't scare me." she said.

Spot smiled. "I'm glad." He placed her on the bed and she crawled under the covers and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Spot smiled wryly, watching her. "Poor kid," he murmured. 

When Rae woke the next morning she found the door to her room wide open. 'Strange!' she thought. 'I closed it last night.'  Crawling out of bed and wrapping a heavy robe around her she walked out into the hallway.  Noticing that Spot's door was open too, she decided to peek into his room. She smiled to see Ann asleep on Spot's bed, clutching his arm like a rag doll. She giggled suddenly and Spot looked up at her.

"Shh!" he said, "You'll wake her up."

"This is a new side of you, Spot," she teased.

"Well don't get used to it." he muttered.

She shook her head. "I'll go prepare some breakfast."

"Oh no you don't" he said, crawling out of the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping girl.

"Don't worry, I don't intend on cooking. I'm just going to set out some fruit... and some bread and butter."

"Good. But I'm going to teach you to cook, Kelly, if it's the last thing I do."

"It will be the last thing you do because I'll burn the house down with you in it!"

"You WILL NOT burn my house down, got that Kelly?"

Rae sighed and shrugged. "Well, since you're up, come and help me."

He cast one more glance at Ann before following her.

"She had a nightmare about me," Spot finally murmured during the preparations for breakfast.

"Why didn't she come wake me up then?" Rae asked.

He gave her a look. "Why do you think, Miss "No-I-Didn't-Hear-The-Big-Loud-Fight-Right-Outside-My-Door"?"

She wrinkled her nose. "There was a big loud fight right outside my door?"

"Back in Brooklyn?" When she didn't appear to remember, Spot shook his head. "Aw, forget it. You wouldn't wake up. She tried waking you up and you didn't."

"Hang on, I want to know about this fight that I slept through."

"Well... 'Sippi and I were actually the ones to get into the fight..."

Her eyes grew wide. "You and Sippi fighting. Too bad I missed that.  Do tell me more."

"Right after you and I had that big fight last spring, Sippi and I got into a fight when he said I was being to hard on ya."

"You and 'Sippi fought over me?"

"Well... 'Sippi fought over you.... I fought against you." He grinned.

She cocked her head to the side. "I feel so...special."

"You should.... he gave me a black eye."

She giggled. "So that's where that came from."

Spot made a face. "You don't have to rub it in."

"I only do it because I love you Conlon."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, shaking his head.

"Breakfast is ready, so I'll go get Ann and Andy." she said.  She walked up the stairs and went to wake Ann up first.  She sat on the edge of the bed. "Good morning, sunshine!" she sang cheerfully. Ann whimpered and rubbed her eyes, sitting up slowly. "Spot told me what happened last night, sweetheart. I'm sorry you couldn't wake me up." Rae said, brushing the hair from the little girl's face.

Sniffling, she nodded. "I'm hungry..."

"Spot's downstairs in the kitchen with breakfast.  Go eat and then we need to find you and your brother some better clothes."

Nodding eagerly, she slid off the bed and scampered down the hall.

Rae walked into the other bedroom just as Andy sat up in the bed and rubbed his eyes.  "Mornin' Andy." she said, leaning against the doorframe.

"Morning," he murmured sleepily

"Breakfast is ready if you want some." she said

Sleepily, he rubbed his eyes and nodded. Then he reached for Rae's hand and together they walked downstairs.

Several hours later Spot walked into the study to find Rae curled up on one of the sofas reading a book.  She had a bright red bandana holding her blond curls away from her face.  "I figured that I'd find you cleaning." he said.

"I was. But I found this book under the couch and it looked interesting, so I started to read it." Rae explained, pointing to the cleaning supplies still sitting on the desk.

"Is it? Interesting, I mean."

"Very.  It's about this prince who lived in a castle in the woods.  One day an ugly old woman comes to the door, begging for food, but he refuses to give it to her.  She's really a witch and she turns him into an ugly monster and says that only his true love can break the spell."

Spot nodded vaguely. "You know what would be more interesting?"

"What?" she asked skeptically.

"You learning how to cook."

"Oh no. I told you that I was not going to cook." she protested, attempting to go back to her book.

Walking over to her, he took the book from her and snapped it closed. "And -I- told YOU that you WERE." He smiled smugly.

"Since when do I listen to you?" she asked, reaching for her book.

"Since now."

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I am NOT going to learn to cook."

"You are so, woman. Otherwise you're not getting your book back," he taunted with a smirk.

"I could so kill you right now." she muttered, reaching for the knife she kept hidden in her boot.

"Not with children around. And besides, you know you want to learn."

"I do NOT!" she said, waving the knife in his face.

Grabbing her arm, he wrenched the knife from her hand. "Knock it off and just learn it for goodness' sake! You don't want to burn down the house when you marry 'Sippi, do you?"

"I'm not going to marry anyone, Conlon." she said through clinched teeth.

"Awww, you don't know that. Now come on... if you want the book AND the knife back, you're going to learn to cook." He motioned for her to follow and headed into the kitchen.

"CONLON, GIVE ME MY KNIFE BACK!" she yelled, chasing after him.

"Like I said, you'll get it back once you learn to cook." He shoved the frilly apron he had worn the previous day into her hands. "Now, let's get started."

"I'm not wearing this!" she protested.

"Oh come on Rae, it's not going to kill you to wear it!"

"NO!" she yelled.  By this time the twins had heard the yelling and gotten curious.  They crept into the kitchen to watch.

"What's the big deal? It's an apron. If I can be man enough to wear it, I'm certain you can be girl enough to."

"I will not, not, NOT" Rae shook her head firmly. "You can just forget about it."

"Just put it on Rae!"

"No!"

Ann and Andy glanced back and forth between the two as if watching a tennis match.

"PUT IT ON, KELLY." he said, using a low, threatening tone, that scared her for the first time.

Ann and Andy looked at him wide-eyed, lips trembling.

Rae picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and threw it at his head.  "I'm NOT putting it on!"

He caught the fruit and threw it back at her. "Put it on!"

"MAKE ME!" she yelled.

Grabbing a fist full of flour in the open bag, he approached her. "If you don't put the apron on, you'll be sorry."

"You wouldn't throw that at me and you know it." she taunted, picking up another apple.

"Do you REALLY wanna try that theory, Rae?" he asked.

"Yes I do!"

He approached her, smirking when she didn't even flinch, and opened his fist, showering flour all over her.

She shrieked. "You are so DEAD!"

With a gleeful shriek, Andy grabbed a handful of flour and showered it over Ann's head. "Now you look like Miss Rae!"

Spot rocked back on his heels, laughing.

Rae took that opportunity to tackle him.  "You won't get away with that!"

"Yeah!" echoed Ann and she pounced on her brother.

Spot managed to grab another fist full of flour and smeared it in Rae's face. She spat the flour out, blinking blindly, and he took that as an opportunity to escape. He seized a cup of water. "Ah ah," he said, grinning impishly, when Rae rose to chase after him again. "I pour this water on you, and you won't get that flour out of your hair for weeks." 

She grabbed an apple and threw it at him, narrowly missing his head. "I won't miss next time." she warned.

Spot grabbed a hold of Andy. "You throw an apple again, and I'll get my little partner here to help me double up on you."

"Oh really!" She said, reaching for Ann and another apple.

"We can beat a couple of girls, no problem," Spot replied, handing Andy a cup of water.

"Yeah!" he echoed, grinning happily.

"This means war!" Rae yelled, throwing the apple. It hit the glass in Spot's hand, shattering the glass.

Shrieking in delight, Ann threw an apple at her brother, missing wildly, but happy all the same.

"Oh, that's it." Spot kicked the broken glass aside and grabbed the entire tub of water.

"Spot Conlon, DON'T YOU DARE!"

He grinned evilly. "Oh, but I think I do. Don't I, Andy?"

"Yeah!"

Rae shoved Ann behind her and grabbed a knife she had seen laying on the counter.  "Don't take another step, Conlon, or you WILL be miserable."

Spot arched a brow. "You know, you really have to get over your obsession with knifing people."

"OBSESSION?  I just do what I must to defend myself." she said, glaring at him.

"It's just a bit of fun! Anyway, I'M not the one throwing apples. Just some harmless water and flour!"

Rae slammed the knife down on the counter and turned to pick up Ann.  "Come on sweetheart. Let's get you cleaned up."

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes- what was WRONG with this woman?!- Spot took Andy's hand and led him from the kitchen.

"Why did Miss Kelly take out that knife at you?" Andy asked, after a moment.

He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

After cleaning up Ann and herself, Rae walked back into the kitchen and sat down on a stool at the counter.  She sighed.  She was going to have to get this over with. "Spot!" she yelled.

"What?" He ran into the kitchen. "Jeez woman, I thought you were being murdered. What is it?"

She grabbed the apron and tied it on. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

A compliant Rae? Unheard of! With a nod, Spot grinned. "All right then. Here's what we're going to make." And so the lesson began.

Later that night Rae was sitting in the parlor once again reading her book while the twins played quietly on the floor.

Spot glanced over at the large grandfather clock in the corner that he had tuned earlier that day. "Looks like it's bedtime."

"Five more minutes?" Andy asked.

"Nope." Rae said, closing her book.  "It's bedtime."

"Please Mr. Spot?" Ann looked at him with a pout.

"Nope, you heard Rae. To bed with the both of you." The two children slowly left the room and made their way upstairs.  Rae picked her book back up and began reading again.  "That book must be really interesting with the way you're reading it." Spot said.

"Oh it is."

"What's it about again?"

"A handsome prince who gets turned into an ugly beast by a witch and only his true love can break the spell.  This beautiful girl just stumbled upon his castle."

"What happens then? Or have you gotten that far?"

"Right now he's lurking in the shadows watching her as she explores his castle."

Spot stretched and yawned. "Sounds interesting."

"It really is.  Everyone has turned their backs on him except a few faithful servants. His heart has become bitter, but all he has to do to break the spell is learn to love."

He frowned. "Aww, a girl story..."

Rae rolled her eyes.  "I bet if you sat down and started reading it you would enjoy it too.  It's not just a girl story."

"Well, it sounds like it. Show me the real adventure and then we'll see."

"I'll let you know when I get to the real adventure...it's still pretty early in the book."  A small sound at the door to the parlor interrupted their conversation.

Spot looked up, arching a brow. "I think someone is up past their bedtime," he remarked to Rae, standing and heading towards the door.

"Now Miss Ann, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked, stepping into the hallway.

"Can I sleep in your bed again Mr. Spot?" she asked, whimpering.

"Ann, you need to sleep in your bed." he said, taking her into his arms.

She began to sniffle. "I know but... I'm scared... And you keep all the monsters away." Huge tears dripped down her cheeks.

He fought the urge to laugh.  Instead he rested her head on his shoulder and stroked her hair.

"Can I, Mr. Spot? Can I?"

He sighed. "I guess so.  But you need to learn to sleep in your own bed."

After another sniffle, she nodded. "Yessir."

He carried her up the stairs and placed her in his bed.  She crawled under the covers and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow

Spot smiled in spite of himself and headed back downstairs. "Kid fell asleep the moment I put her down."

"I figured she would." Rae said.  "You really do have a way with them."

"Me?" He gestured to himself. "No, I don't think so."

"She idolizes you." Rae said.  "Anyone can see it."

"She has nightmares about me Rae. About this." He pointed to his severely scarred face.

"I believe that she said, you scare away the monsters." Rae protested.

"With this scary face." Spot smirked, as if to say 'try to one-up THAT!'

Rae shook her head. "I give up. You're too pig-headed."

"Oink, oink," he replied sarcastically.

She giggled and attempted to go back to her reading, but was soon rolling in laughter.

Spot arched a brow, but grinned a little anyway.

She yawned.  "I'm going to bed." she whispered, standing.

"Sleep well," he replied, kicking his heels up onto the couch. "And don't sleep so deeply that the kids can't wake you up. I don't want BOTH Ann and Andy sleeping with me!"

She smiled. "That I'd like to see."

"I'm sure you would..."

"Goodnight." she said slipping from the room.

With a sigh, Spot leaned his head back. Rae had left her book, he noticed, glancing out of the corner of his eye. 'Well,' he thought, 'maybe I can be nice and give it to her.' He went over and picked it up. "Wonder what's so great about it," he muttered, opening it to the first page. Slowly, he sat down, suddenly hooked by the first page, and began to read.

* * *

Rae woke early the next morning, dressed and slowly made her way downstairs.  As she passed the parlor door, she noticed Spot, sound asleep on the couch, her book resting open on his chest. She smirked. 'Not interested in a girly book, eh?' she thought, gently prodding his shoulder to wake him.

He stretched and the book fell onto the floor.  He bent to pick it up and noticed her standing there for the first time.  "Good morning Rae." he said softly.

"Morning, Sunshine. My, did you stay up reading all night?" She glanced pointedly at the book.

"I guess I did." he said.

"Hmm, that's curious... I seem to recall you claiming it was a girly book that you wouldn't be interested. Explain that?" She arched her brow.

"I decided to see why you were so interested in it."

"Ahh." She nodded. "And what did you conclude?"

"I don't think I got any further than you did, but what I did read was pretty good."

She held a hand to her chest. "Then I guess that means..." she gasped, "that I was right!"

He rolled his eyes. "Knock it off, Kelly."

"No, no.... I think I'm onto something. I mean... if I'm right, then you must be... hmm, what is it? It's on the tip of my tongue- rhymes with song?"

"Ok, I was WRONG!" he said

She grinned gleefully. "Boy I wish everyone was here to hear you say that."

"If you don't knock it off, you won't be able to tell everyone." he threatened, heading for the door.

Rae shook her head and rolled her eyes. "And he says -I- have an obsession with threatening people."

Ann stumbled down the stairs, sleepily rubbing her eyes.  "Mornin' Ann." Rae said with a smile.

Ann waved and yawned. "Morning Miss Rae. Morning Mr. Spot."

"Come here Ann." Rae said, motioning for the child to join her.  Ann walked over to her and Rae pulled the girl into her lap.  "How about you and I go into town and get some things to make you some new dresses?"

She brightened immediately. "Really? New dresses for me?"

"Yep.  We don't have anything here that would fit you, and nothing we can cut down, and that dress of yours won't hold up much longer."

Ann began to bounce around gleefully. "New dresses for me! New dresses for me!"

Spot laughed. "I guess we found out what makes her happy!"

Rae grinned. "I guess so. Come on, let's get some breakfast in us, and then we can go."

Ann squealed excitedly and ran for the kitchen.

"You want to come Spot?" Rae inquired, grinning.

"Not with this face." he said.  "Andy and I will see what we can do around here, while you are gone."

Rae sighed, muttering about his absurdities and headed into the kitchen.

Later that morning Rae walked into the store holding Ann's hand as she skipped alongside her.  Cooking, she knew nothing about, but Rae could handle make a few dresses for the little girl.

She shifted a bit uncomfortably as people walked by staring and stood off in corners whispering. 'What are they staring at?' she wondered.

She walked over to the clerk who had made fun of her the day before, as he was the only clerk in sight.  "Good morning, Tom!" she said cheerfully.  "I'd like to see the fabrics please."

Tom looked at her, slightly stunned. "Um... right." He seemed a bit skittish which Rae found a bit odd.

Rae followed him to the far corner of the room, trying her best to ignore the stares and whispers.  She felt a small tug on her hand.  "What is it Ann?" she asked.

"Everyone's staring..." she whispered.

Rae knelt down next to the girl.  "I know sweetheart.  Just try to forget about them alright?"

She clutched Rae's hand tightly and nodded timidly.

Rae scooped the girl in her arms and followed Tom.  Once at the fabric counter she quickly placed her order and waited for Tom to cut the fabrics.  By the time he had finished, Ann had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

Hastily, Tom took care of it, charged her the proper fees, and ushered them out the door.

Before he could turn to go back inside she roughly grabbed his arm. "What is going on here?"

Tom blinked, startled. "Wha-what do you mean?"

Her grip on his arm tightened.  "Why are they staring at me and whispering?"

"I uh... I don't know..."

Rae's grip tightened further.

"Someone said there were folks living in the old Kringler house outside of town with a beast!" he yelped in a high voice.

"Maybe they should stop gossiping about things they don't know."

"This man who told us is very respectable young lady.... He said a man with a disfigured face lived at that house and that you lived with him!"

"That MAN happens to be my brother." she lied.

Tom paled considerably. "Well I..."

"Yeah, that's right." She released his arm with a scowl and pushed him back into the store.

Shifting Ann slightly in her arms and tightly clutching the fabric, Rae stormed out of town. She couldn't believe the audacity they had! This was exactly the thing Spot feared. Turning the events over and over in her mind she came to a conclusion. She couldn't tell Spot.

When she arrived home, Spot and Andy were outside playing a game of catch. They both waved between tosses.

"What's got you so glum, Kelly?" Spot asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I was just a long walk and Ann's getting heavy."

He glanced at her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

With a shrug, he said, "All right then. You girls care to join us men for a game of catch?"

She set Ann down on the ground and then depositing the package on the porch she walked back over to them.  "Let's play."

Ann squealed. "We got such pretty fabric, Mr. Spot!" She spun around in her ratty dress. "I'm gonna have some pretty dresses!

Spot laughed.  "I'm sure they will Ann." he said, messing her hair.  She skipped over to Rae. "Can we get started on them right now, Miss Rae?"

"Did you want to do that or play with Andy and Spot?"

Ann looked at her brother and Spot and then back to Rae, "Can I stay here and play and you go work on the dresses?"

"Let me get your measurements first." Rae took her by the hand and led her into the house. Ten minutes later the little girl came running out and joined in the game.

After a minute or two Spot left and walked into the house.  He found Rae in the parlor, sitting on the floor cutting the fabric. "What is it that you wouldn't tell me?"

She looked at him innocently. "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that act Rae. You're hiding something and I know it."

She sighed. There was no way she was going to tell him the WHOLE truth.  "The people in town have figured out that we are living here and they are saying some things about...well....you...and me...LIVING together."

Spot scratched his head. "And there's a problem with that?"

She gave him a look.

"All right, all right, I see what you mean. Did they say anything to you about it?"

"For the most part they stood and whispered and stared.  They scared Ann pretty bad.  But I finally forced Tom to tell me what was going on."

"Tom? Who's Tom?"

"That clerk that I was telling you about."

"What did he say?" Spot looked somewhat apprehensive and a bit angry at the same time.

"Just that someone had seen the two of us here."

"And that's why they talked and whispered?" He arched a brow. Something wasn't adding up. "There had to be something else for you to look that mad."

"You really don't want to know." she said, going back to cutting the fabric.

Now his interest was piqued. "No. I do. Tell me."

"You DON'T want to know."

"Don't tell me what I do and don't want to know. Now tell me!:

She sighed.  "Someone caught a glimpse of you through the trees."

Spot opened his mouth to speak again and then closed it. His expression darkened. "That gossip... was about me then, wasn't it?"

She looked up and caught his eye, slowly nodding her head.

He made a disgusted sound and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I should have known." He growled. 

"Spot..." Rae said cautiously.

"What?!" he roared.

"We aren't leaving.  We are staying HERE in THIS HOUSE!"

He looked at her, confused. "What does that got to do with anything?"

"I saw that look in your eye. It was the same look you had in your eye when we left Brooklyn."

He scowled. "I know what they think of me. I can tell by the way you won't tell me... They think I'm a freak! Just like everyone in Brooklyn would have thought if we had stayed!"

"It's not like you have to see them anyway!  I'm the one who buys the groceries!  If you want to leave, FINE, but the twins and I are staying right here."

"Fine!" Spot yelled back, balling up his fists. He looked like he intended to scrap, but at the last minute he turned and stalked from the room.

"MEN!" Rae yelled, throwing her pin cushion across the room.

By the end of the evening, Rae and Spot were still on no-speaking terms.

The tension was thick through dinner and the twins felt it. The spent little time eating and most of their time looking from Rae to Spot and back again.  By the time the meal was finished Rae and Spot were glaring at one another across the table, unaware of anything else going on in the room.  Spot felt a small tug on his sleeve. "Mr. Spot?" Ann asked timidly.

Fighting back the snappish reply that was on his lips, he replied a simple "Yes?"

"Can I sleep with you again tonight?" she asked, her lower lip trembling.

Softening a bit, he nodded. "Sure kiddo."

Andy grabbed his sister's hand and dragged her from the room. "Let's go play!"  As they left, Rae stood and carried her plate over to the sink.

Spot glanced at her, glared, and then looked away.

She threw her plate into the sink, shattering it.

"What in the world are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she yelled throwing another plate in the sink.

"Smashing all the dishes!"

"I wish these were your head!" she yelled, throwing a third plate in the sink.

"I wish it they were your face!" he retorted.

"Oh right, so then you wouldn't have to feel so sorry for yourself."

"Oh yeah, Rae, life is just one big pity celebration for me, isn't it? I moved because I thought I'd be pitied. I don't NEED pity! Not from you, not from those STUPID TOWNSPEOPLE!"

"I DON'T PITY YOU! I'm trying to HELP you!" she yelled.

Spot didn't know what to say so he just glared at her, growled briefly, and then folded his arms over his chest and sulked. Sometimes he felt women- Rae in particular- were put on this Earth to torment him.

Rae sighed. "Look, you can't spend the rest of your life sneaking around in the shadows. You're gonna need some help."

Spot glared at her. "There isn't exactly anything that can help my face Rae."

"But if you stay here at least you've got someone to get some FOOD for you!"

"What are you- Rae, I never said I was going to leave!" he snapped. "You just JUMPED to conclusions!"

"You had that same look in your eye as you did a few nights ago when we left Brooklyn!"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"I give up!" she yelled, stomping from the room and up the stairs.

He growled loudly. Women!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Rae paced the floor of her room.  She had been pacing for an hour, but she was still full of energy.  She heard Spot telling the twins that it was bedtime and she started for the door to help them get ready, but stopped.  Let Spot deal with them and then she'd have another talk with Spot once they were in bed.

"Night Mr. Spot!" Ann and Andy called. They knocked on Rae's door. "Night Miss Rae!"

She opened the door and placed a kiss on each of their foreheads. "Good night!" she said, trying to sound cheerful. They took turns giving her a hug and Andy headed off to his room and Ann to Spot's. While Spot went to settle them in their beds, Rae slipped downstairs to the parlor and picked up the pieces of the first dress that she was making for Ann.

A few moments later, Spot returned. Seeing Rae across the room, he frowned, hesitated, and then entered, making it clear that he was still angry.

She sighed. "Spot..." she said softly.

"What?" he replied stiffly.

"We need to try to get along, at least for the sake of Ann and Andy." she said, not looking at him.

"I reckon you're right," he replied, also not looking at her.

"Spot...I'm sorry." she said, softly, so softly that he almost couldn't hear it,

He chewed on his lip and contemplated her apology for a long pause. "I guess... I guess I should be sorry too..."

She looked up and caught his eye, a slight smile on her lips.

"What? Is there something on my face?" he asked, forgetting the fact that yes, there WAS something on his face- a web of scars.

She gasped slightly and bit her lower lip. "Spot...I..."

He arched a brow. "What?"

She laughed. "I don't know."

"No! What?! I wanna know!" he demanded, feeling like he was left out of some great secret.

"You asked if there was something on your face....and...umm...."

It dawned on him and he shook his head with a smirk. "Well... you WERE staring at me."

"I'm sorry...it won't happen again." she said.

He smirked. "Better not."

"So what did you men do while we were gone this morning?" she asked, trying to cover to unusual feeling in her stomach.

"Just tossed around an old ball we found.... oh yeah, and we explored the house a bit too. There's an attic above the third floor."

"Find anything interesting in the attic?"

"The ball." He grinned. Rae rolled her eyes. "Just a few trunks and stuff. Old furniture, a couple ugly paintings."

"Anything that we could use?"

He shrugged, picking at his fingernail. "We didn't look much. Once Andy found the ball, that was all he wanted to do."

"Maybe we can go explore it some more, once we get this house cleaned." she said, making a face.

Spot made a similar face. "That's one thing I ain't looking forward to."

"Where should we start tomorrow. If we work together it shouldn't be that bad."

He shrugged. "In here maybe?" He gestured around the parlor. It would probably be the simplest room to clean.

She nodded.  "I noticed that there was a smaller parlor near the back of the house.  We don't need two parlors, so why don't we clean the other one out and make it into a playroom for the twins?" she was starting to get real uneasy now.  

Spot shrugged. "Sounds okay... I guess we're kind of adopting them now, aren't we?"

"I just can't see us sending them to an orphanage.  We have all this room and all that money..."

Spot nodded after a moment. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I wonder... how DID they end up here?"

"No one in town seemed to recognize Ann, so maybe they aren't from around here."

"You think we ought to ask them?"

"We can try.  It just seems odd that two small children would be here in a place that has been so obviously abandoned for several years."

"Well, it's pretty odd that we are here too," he pointed out.

"I wish I knew the mystery behind this place. It's almost too good to be true."

Spot nodded and glanced around. Maybe it WAS. Who knew whether or not the house's original owners were just traveling abroad for a few years and would come back to find a quartet of street kids living within.

Rae sighed. "I keep thinking this is all a dream. And that I'm going to wake up in my bunk back in Brooklyn."

"Wouldn't that be nice." It was a statement, not a question. And a very wistful statement at that. Spot sighed and shrugged.

Rae bit her lower lip.  "So what happened anyway?  All we knew was that you had disappeared."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Do we have to talk about this NOW?"

"No." Rae whispered softly, looking down at her sewing.

"Well I... I didn't mean to upset you but..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I had another job. One I worked after selling papers."

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." she whispered.

"Well... I have to tell about it sometime... And I guess you deserve to know as well as anyone." He paused for a long time. "I started working at this new factory in town because I wasn't doing so hot selling papers anymore."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Spot looked at her, confused. "Why didn't I what?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone that you weren't selling so well? Or that you had gotten another job?" She asked.

He gave her a look. "You think I want all of Brooklyn to know that Spot Conlon can't sell papers anymore? Or that he has to rely on another job to get by?"

"I didn't mean that you had to tell all of Brooklyn." she said, defensively.

"If I told anyone at the lodging house, all of Brooklyn would soon find out."

Rae snorted and glared at him.

He sighed in frustration. "Well, I didn't mean YOU necessarily! Just... a lot of others."

"So how...what...how?" Rae asked, looking down at her sewing.

"This?" He pointed to his scarred face.

She nodded slowly, not looking up.

"This new factory stayed open all the time, running three shifts.  They had children working all three shifts.  Because I was the leader of the newsies the owners decided to hire me as a shift supervisor." he said.

Rae nodded and smiled a bit. "Of course. The leader of something. You like being in charge, don't you?"

He nodded.  "We got behind on our production, so the owners ordered that we turn up the pace of the machines.  The problem is that those machines were already going as fast as they were supposed to go."  

She clucked her tongue. "That's why I hate them. Factories... all of them..." She blushed a bit when he looked a little annoyed at being interrupted and gestured to him abruptly. "Go on."

"I knew something was wrong and decided to get my kids out of there.  I turned around at the door to make sure they were all out when the machines exploded."

Rae's hand lifted to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh my gosh..."

 "I'm not even sure how long I was out.  I woke up in the hospital and stayed until they let me leave.  The doctor's said I was lucky.  My face wasn't the worst of it."

Rae looked at him skeptically. 

He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and began to roll up his sleeves.  Rae realized for the first time that he had been wearing long-sleeved shirts since she had found him that night in Brooklyn.  Spot rarely wore long-sleeved shirts.  Once he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows he held his arms out toward Rae, palms up.

She gasped again, gently taking his arm and looking at the long, ugly scars that tore up his arm. She didn't want to look at them, but her eyes were glued. The pink puffy skin looked so mean and so violent...

Spot was shocked when Rae fainted.  Gently lifting her into his arms, he placed her on the couch and ran into the kitchen to get a wet rag. Maybe it was all too much to tell her about it and show her the gruesome scars. He never knew Rae to be weak, but some things affected people differently. 'At least she didn't throw up,' he thought wryly.

He quickly returned to the parlor with a wet rag and a glass of water.  He knelt next to her and placed the wet rag on her forehead.

After a few moments, Rae awoke with a start. "Wha.. what?"

Spot smiled faintly. "You silly girl."

"What happened?" she asked.

"You fainted."

"Oh." she whispered.

He put his hand behind her head and gently lifted her head. "Here, drink some of this." he said, helping her drink some of the water.

She gagged a bit and took the glass from him carefully. "Let me do it before you drown me," she teased quietly.

"I'm sorry." he said.  "I guess I shouldn't have shown you the scars."

She shrugged. "You wouldn't have known.... But .... oh Spot.... I can't even begin to imagine how awful that was..."

"Yeah." he muttered standing.  "You should get to bed."

Rae looked at him uncertainly. "I didn't mean anything by that..."

"I know." he said with a slight nod. "Think you can make it upstairs by yourself?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

"See you in the morning then." he said, leaving the room.

Casting an uncertain glance after him, she slowly climbed the steps to her room. As she climbed into her bed she thought about what Spot had told her.  Why hadn't he sent word to them that he was hurt?  Even if he hadn't sent word to everyone, he could have at least told her.

She frowned deeply. Of course. Him and his leader pride. She shook her head.

Downstairs, Spot sat at the dining room table, tapping his own glass of water that he had just gotten himself, staring at the wall blankly. Rae had FAINTED... because of his ghastly scars. He scowled and took a long gulp. She couldn't help it. It just happened. But that just enforced on him just how beastly he looked.

He downed the water in one gulp and threw the glass against the wall, shattering it.

* * *

Rae woke up early the next morning and drowsily headed downstairs for something to drink. As she passed through the dining room, she caught sight of a glittering on the floor in the morning light that spilled through the window. Cautiously, she crossed the floor, frowned, and knelt, picking up the shards of glass.

"I'll do that." Spot said from behind her, scaring her and causing her to cut her hand on the glass.

She hissed and put the cut to her mouth. "Don't sneak up on a person!"

"I'm sorry." he said kneeling beside her.  "Let me see." he said, pulling her hand from her mouth.

She glanced at him fleetingly. "Did you do that?" She jerked her head towards the pile of glass.

"Yeah." he muttered, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapping it around her hand.

"Thanks," she murmured when he tied off the knot. "Why?"

"If you can throw plates into the sink I can throw a glass against the wall." he said, standing to his feet.

She fought to keep herself from snapping back at him, opting not to say anything. Sitting down, she began to pick up the glass pieces. With a sigh she leaned her head against the wall for a moment. What had gotten into him?

Spot frowned. "I said I'd get it."

"I know." she whispered as she stood, the shards of glass in her hand.

"So let me do it."

"I've got it." she argued as she headed toward the kitchen to throw away the glass.

With a grunt of frustration, Spot scuffed his foot on the floor and stormed from the room.

Rae wanted to scream. What was his problem?  Just then Ann walked into the room. "Good morning, sweetheart!" Rae said cheerfully to hide her true mood.

Ann stifled a yawn and waved. "Hi Miss Rae.

"Are ya hungry?" Rae asked, stooping to the little girl's level

"Yes. Very."

Rae smiled at the girl and lifted her onto one of the stools.  "What happened to your hand?" Ann asked.

Rae glanced at it. "Oh, I just cut it, that's all."

"On what?" Ann asked.  Rae muttered something under her breath about nosy four-year-olds.

"On some glass. Spot dropped a cup and I was helping him clean it up."

"Ok."

* * *

It was cleaning day. Spot had insisted the work be divided by rooms... just some time he could spend alone. So there he was, alone, in the study, cleaning the dirty windows. The door creaked open behind him.

"Mr. Spot?" Andy inquired.

"What Andy?" he asked, trying to cover his irritation.

"Did you need any help?" He held up a bucket of water. "I finished what I was supposed to, and Ann is helping Miss Rae."

"Nope." Spot said.  "Why don't you go ask Miss Rae to give you another job."

"You could give me one, couldn't ya Mr. Spot? I wanna help you."

"I don't need any help, Andy." Spot said, his irritation beginning to show through his voice.

"But I-"

"I said I don't need any help, Andy!" he snapped.

"But..."  

"NO ANDY!" Spot yelled.  "GET OUT!"

Andy flinched, stepped back, and then scurried from the room.

A few minutes later Rae stuck her head in the room. "Spot, what's wrong with Andy?" she asked.  

"How should I know?" he snapped.

"Well he came from this room in tears when he entered it all happy and bouncy. I think that would say that something went on in here!"

"He asked if I needed some help, and I told him that I didn't. Leave me alone, Rae."

She arched a brow. That couldn't have been all that happened.

Spot glanced back. "I said leave me alone Rae," he growled.

She walked over toward him. "Spot, something else had to have happened."

"Get out!" he yelled.

"Spot..." she was cut off when the back of his hand connected hard with her face. She stared at him wide-eyed and her hand drifted up to touch the mark he had left. Spot's eyes were dark and angry.

"I said leave me alone." Promptly, he turned around and went back to cleaning.

She watched him for a moment until tears began to cloud her vision, and then she slipped quietly from the room.

Spot glanced back and then looked towards his window again, staring at it, and he slumped to the floor. He had told her to go away and leave him alone, but she just wouldn't listen. He looked down at his hand, which still stung a bit. She'd know better next time, he thought with a shrug.  Sighing, he stood and went back to his cleaning.

* * *

It was dinnertime again. Both Ann and Andy had sensed something wrong. From Andy's accounts with Spot earlier that day, they both guessed it had to do with his moodiness. They just didn't know how moody. Rae was silent, picking half-heartedly at her foot. Spot, silent too, quickly ate his food and excused himself from the table.

Rae picked at her food until the twins had finished and left the table.  Picking up the plates she quickly cleaned the kitchen.  She had earlier planned on going back into the parlor to work on Ann's dresses, but now she wasn't exactly sure where Spot was, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be near him.

She couldn't believe he had actually hit her. Her life long friend Spot Conlon.... had actually HIT her! She was still a little shaken. What had gotten into him?

A moment later, Spot entered the room. "I'm going out to work in the yard," he said flatly.

"It will be getting dark soon." Rae reminded him softly.

"I'll be okay Rae, this isn't Brooklyn."

"But the townspeople..." she trailed off when he glared at her

"If it's getting dark, they won't see me so well. 'Sides, aren't they all scared out of their wits about me anyway? Why would they come around?"

"They may try to come..."

"I'll be fine. Stop nagging me!"

She shrank back and nodded.

Whirling on his heel, he stalked from the room.

Rae scrubbed her sleeve over her eyes in attempt to stop the tears. She wasn't much of a crier, but some things just couldn't be helped. She sniffled, making her way to the parlor. At least she didn't have to worry about him being in there.

Ann and Andy were quietly playing on the floor, but when she came in the crawled up on the couch on either side of her.  "Miss Rae?" Ann asked.

Hastily, she dried her face. "Yes sweetheart, what is it?"

"What's wrong with Mr. Spot?" Ann asked, resting her head in Rae's lap.

Gently, she began to stroke Ann's hair. "I don't know sweetheart. I don't know."

"Did he make you cry?" Andy asked.

"Just a little. He has a lot on his mind. We all do."

"Why is your cheek purple?" Andy asked.

'Good grief, these kids sure ask a lot of questions!' With a sigh, she shook her head. "It's nothing, really. Why don't the two of you go play?

"I don't want to." Ann said, snuggling up closer to Rae.

"You want me to finish your dresses don't you? I'm going to need some quiet time to get them done," Rae replied.

Ann sighed and hopped off the couch.  "Stay in the house and don't bug Mr. Spot." Rae said, as the children left the room.

The twins nodded and headed off upstairs.

Once they left she stood and walked over to the fireplace and looked into the mirror above it.  Sure enough, there was a nice purple bruise there. The sight of the mark angered her. "How DARE he hit me!" she murmured.  Closing her eyes, she looked away.

'At least it's not near as bad as Spot's face.' a little voice told her. 'And yours will heal.'

She cringed and sighed. Her little voice was right. Spot was.... affected... he had to heal on the inside as well.... she just hoped that things were going to get better.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

A couple of days later Rae was working in the back parlor, trying to create a playroom for the twins when something outside caught her eye.  She stared out the window a moment before smiling. SNOW!

And it wasn't sparse, dirty, wet flakes like it was in New York. It was fluffy, white flakes! With childishly glee, she ran through the house shrieking "It's snowing! It's snowing!" She flung open the doors of Ann's and Andy's room. "It's snowing!"

The two exchanged a confused look, before following her slowly down the stairs

Rae flung open the study's doors, where Spot was seated, thumbing through some books. "It's snowing Spot!" She rushed over to the window. "Look at how white it is!"

"Go away!" Spot growled, from his chair behind the desk.  Rae made a face at him.

"Grumpus!" she said.

"Nag!" he snapped back.

Rae made another face before leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.

Ann and Andy were standing right outside the door. "Did you and Mr. Spot have a fight?" Ann asked.

Could the few words they exchanged be considered a fight?  "No sweetheart, just a little disagreement." Rae said, smiling at her.

"Is Mr. Spot gonna play in the snow with us then?" Andy asked hopefully. "I wanna build a fort!"

"Mr. Spot is too busy to play with us, but I can build a fort just as good as he can."

He looked at her a bit skeptically. "But you're a girl."

"Nah uh!" Ann yelped. "Miss Rae can do anything!"

Rae smiled.  "Thanks Ann." she said, patting the girl's head.  "Race you outside."

Both children shrieked in delight and ran after Rae. They stopped when once they were outside. Where was Rae?  They took a few cautious steps into the yard. Suddenly, they were hit with snowballs! Turning, they saw her grinning and preparing to throw another pair.

Inside, Spot heard giggles.  He walked slowly to the window and peered out. Down in the snowy yard below, a snowball fight was going on. Rae had been right. The snow WAS extremely white. He'd never seen snow that was that clean before... How could the three of them be so happy when he was so miserable?

He sighed. He almost wished he could decree that NO ONE have fun unless he could have it too... "Like that'd work," he muttered to himself.

He walked back over to his chair, and slumped into it.  If only there was some way to turn back time. Back to the factory... change his actions. 'But what could I do? I couldn't leave them kids in there to get blown up!'

The door to the study creaked open and Rae stuck her head in. "May I come in?" she asked hesitantly.

He grunted. "No one's stopping you."

She slipped in, closing the door behind her and leaned against the door.  "Spot, I don't know what I did to upset you, but don't take it out on Ann and Andy too.  They want you to come play in the snow with them."

Spot closed his eyes. "I'm busy."

"Busy feeling sorry for yourself." Rae muttered.

He turned on her. "Shut up Rae, I'm not in the mood to hear it from you!"

"Just come out and play for one hour.  Andy really wants you to help him defend the snow fort that we built."

Spot glanced at her, sighed, and rose to his feet. "All right..."

"Thank you, Spot." she whispered. He nodded vaguely and left the room. She smiled slightly. A small victory.

"Hey kids!" Spot called out, traipsing into the cold snow.

"Mr. Spot!" the twins yelled, running over and attaching themselves to his legs, nearly knocking him over.

"Whoa, whoa. Let a fellow keep standing!"

"Are you gonna help me 'fend my fort?" Andy asked.

"Sure thing kiddo."

~*~

Sometime later Rae collapsed on the snow.  "I GIVE!" she yelled.  "I just can't keep going."

Quietly, Spot handed Andy an armload of snowballs. "Go get her," he whispered.

Rae screamed when Andy dumped the snowballs on her.  She jumped to her feet and instead of attacking the little boy, she charged toward Spot.

Laughing, Spot ran. "Why are you chasing ME, woman! He's the one that got you!"

"Cause you told him to." she yelled, diving at his feet. He yelped, taken down. She grabbed a handful of snow and held it over his face.

"Oh, you don't scare me Rae Kelly. It's just a bit of snow."

"That doesn't matter. The point is that I got the best of you." She said with a smirk.

Spot hooked his foot around her ankle and yanked back, causing her to trip. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." He knelt next to her, "Rae, are you still as ticklish as you were when we were little?"

"No." She answered, trying to get away from him.

 He pinned her to the ground.  "Haven't you learned that you can't lie to me?"

"Me? Lie? No way."

He waved his finger in her face. "Now, Kelly. I think it's time to find out just how ticklish you really are."

Rae gave him a look. "Don't you dare, Spot Conlon. Don't you dare!"

He smirked at her and sending a quick glance over his shoulder at the twins, he began to tickle her.

Shrieking loudly, she began to giggle. He HAD to know she was ticklish! "Stop! Stop!" she tried to gasp between giggles. Grabbing a handful of snow, she smashed it into his face.

He stumbled back a bit and she jumped to her feet and ran behind the twins, holding them in front of her.

"Aw, that's low. Using the kids as protection?" He smirked. 

"Tickling me was a low blow!" she retorted.

Spot shrugged and glanced around. "Well anyway... The snow is pretty nice. First time we've had it before Christmas... well, a lot of it, anyway."

Andy nudged his sister. "What's Christmas?"

Ann shrugged and then pulled Rae's shirt. "What's Christmas?"

Rae sent a shocked glance toward Spot. "It's kinda hard to explain, I guess we will just have to show you." Rae said, smirking at Spot

Spot arched a brow.

"Come on Spot, you know what I'm talking about."

"Do I now?"

She sent a glance toward the twins. "The T-R-E-E and the P-R-E-S-E-N-T-S!"

With a frown, he glanced at them and then her. "I don't know..."

"It will be sooo much fun." Rae said.  Ann and Andy were looking back and forth from Rae to Spot.

After a long pause to consider, he nodded. "All right then..."

Rae squealed in delight and threw her arms around his neck. Spot stumbled backwards, startled by her display of delight.

"You and Andy go find a tree while Ann and I will go see what's in the attic." Rae ordered, grabbing the little girl's hand and dragging her toward the house.

Ann and Andy exchanged confused but excited looks and ran off with their respective 'adults'.

Ann followed Rae up to the attic. "What are we looking for?" the little girl asked.

"Christmas decorations."

"What are those?" Ann asked.  "Mr. Spot and Andy are going to bring us a nice tree and we are going to put candles and bows on it. And maybe some other things if we can find them up here." Rae answered

"Ooh... that sounds so pretty! Is that Christmas?"

Rae smiled at the little girl. "OH Ann, Christmas is so much more than that. Decorating for Christmas is just part of the fun."

She jumped gleefully. 

~*~

"Mr. Spot?" Andy asked as they walked through the woods. "What's Christmas?"

"Well, you know the bible story with Jesus right?"

Andy nodded.

"Well, Christmas celebrates when he was born."

"Oh....ok.  Why did Rae send us to find a tree?"

"Because we're going to decorate it."

"Decorate it?"

He nodded. 

* * *

Several days later, just three days before Christmas, after the twins were in bed, Rae knocked softly on the door of the study, where Spot had once again locked himself in.

"What?" was the grunted reply she received.

She sighed. "Will you let me in?"

Rae heard him stalk across the room and unlock the door.  He threw it open. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"I want to talk to you about the presents for the twins." she replied.

"This is all your doing! Not mine!" Spot said.

"Well you agreed to it, so you're going to help! Can't you be PLEASANT for once?!"

"If you got them presents you can do the rest on your own. I got the stupid tree for you. And I will be pleasant when -I- feel like it."

"Oh, get off your thrown Mr. High-and-Mighty!" she snapped, though she was prepared to step back should he move to hit her again.

"Watch it Kelly." he growled.

She sighed. "Fine Spot. Be that way." She turned to leave. She stopped suddenly and turned around. "I know what happened was bad, Spot, but you can't let it ruin your whole life." Before she could say anything else the door slammed in her face. "You know I'm right!" she yelled through the door. There was no response.

She sighed. She had to get through to him, but how?

She turned away from the door. Whatever would happen would have to wait for later. She had presents to deal with. 

* * *

Spot woke to someone bouncing on his bed.  "Wake up Mr. Spot." Ann called happily.

He rolled on his back, grunting. "Ain't it a little early for you to be up, Ann?" he murmured sleepily. The sun was just starting to rise.

Ann just kept bouncing.  "There's all kinds of boxes under the tree Mr. Spot!"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "You went down and peeked before anyone woke up?"

She nodded.  "Andy's down there too. I said that we needed to come get you and Miss Rae."

"Good luck getting her up," he mumbled, rolling to a sitting position.

"That's why I got you." Ann said with a grin.

He patted her head. "Even -I- can't get her up," he said with a very vague smile.

She pouted. "Can't you do somethin'?"

Stroking his chin, he replied, "Well... I suppose I could try." He reckoned there were a few tricks he could think of that hadn't been tried yet. He snickered. What if he simply carried her outside? Surely the extreme cold would wake her. Or even dump snow down the back of her shirt. Oh bliss. He chuckled and climbed out of bed. "Come on kiddo."

He crept into her room and she didn't move.  With a sinister grin, he carefully lifted her from the bed.  She slept on as he carried her down the stairs and out the door.  It had snowed even more in the night, creating huge snow backs near the house.  He dropped her into one and sprinted around the side of it.

A deafening scream split the serene, peaceful air. Rae floundered out of the snow and looked around, exerting heavy puffs of air through her nose. Where was he? "I know you're out here somewhere Spot!!!"

On the porch Ann and Andy giggled as Rae began to look around the huge mounds of snow. She looked at them. "Ann? Andy? Where did Mr. Spot go? I'd really like to find him."

"That way!" they said, pointing.

She smiled at them before tearing off in the direction they had pointed. "SPOT CONLON!" she screamed.

They took off after her, not wanting to miss what would happen between their caretakers.

Spot grinned from his hiding place. So the pipsqueaks had squealed on him. What could he expect? They were only five years old.

He waited until she ran past and then stepped out of his hiding place. "Looking for me, Kelly?"

Rae whirled on her heel. "Yes I AM looking for you! Get over here!"

He snickered.  "Like I'd do that."

She barreled through the snow at him and tackled him to the ground.

The two wrestled in the snow for a few minutes before Spot was finally able to pin Rae to the ground.

She glared up at him. "There are better ways to wake me up that are healthier for YOU!"

"I can beat you any day, Kelly and you know it.  Now get up and go inside and put some dry clothes on, so that the kids can open their presents."

Her glare darkened as she sat up. "I'll get you when you least expect it."

"I know you will. Now move it!"

She stood and trudged, shivering in the cold, back into the house and up to her room to change. When she came back downstairs Spot handed her a cup of coffee. "Thanks" she muttered, dropping carefully onto a couch.

Ann crawled up next to her.  "Can we open the presents now?"

Rae glanced at the hopeful children and nodded. "Go ahead." As they raced towards the tree, she noticed something odd about the amount of presents under it. "Spot?" she asked, looking up at him. "Did you add some presents to that pile?'

He looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Why would you think that?"

"Spot, you can't lie to me. I happen to be the best liar in Brooklyn."

He snorted. "Yeah, and I'm the queen of England.

Rae rolled her eyes and watched as the twin tore into the packages

"Jeez Rae, how much did you get them?" he mused with a smirk on his face.

"It's just a few things I found in the attic.  It was too cold to walk into town." Ann and Andy were shrieking in delight with each new gift they unwrapped." I don't remember giving them that... or that..." She glanced suspiciously at Spot. "I guess someone else must be living in this house, because I sure didn't put those presents under the tree."

Spot leaned back, propping his arms up against the back of the couch. "Haven't you ever heard of St. Nick?"

Rae glared at him. "I've heard of him, but you know that he's not real."

"Ah, I don't know. Presents magically appearing underneath a tree seems pretty unlikely."

"Whatever!" she muttered, with a shiver, having still not completely warmed up from being outside in the snow.

He smirked and looked back at the twins. Reaching for a blanket, he tossed it to Rae.

"Thanks." she whispered, wrapping the blanket tightly around her shoulders.  

Ann screeched and held up a small doll. "Lookit Miss Rae! A dolly! I got a dolly now!"

"She's beautiful, sweetheart." Rae said with a drowsy smile.

Scampering over to Rae, she placed it on her lap. "You can play with her until we're done, okay?"

"Thank you Ann." Rae said, moving the doll to the couch next to her and pulling her legs up, tucking them beneath her quilt.

Ann scampered off to the presents again. Spot pointed to the hand that Rae had clutched the doll in. "Your first doll?" he teased.

She looked down at the doll. "Actually...yes, it is."

He pursed his lips suddenly. "Oh... uh... sorry..."

She laughed slightly. "It's ok...I never really thought about it before now."

"Thank you Miss Rae! Thank you Mr. Spot!" Ann and Andy yelled excitedly.

Rae coughed. "You're welcome kids."

Spot nodded, echoing her sentiments without the cough.

"I'm going back to bed." Rae muttered, attempting to stand, but falling to the floor.

Rising to his feet, Spot grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "What's wrong?"

"I suddenly don't feel so good." she whispered, nearly fainting.

He looked at her oddly. "Why not?" Without waiting for an answer, he said to Ann and Andy, "Say goodnight to Miss Rae. She's gonna take a nap."

"Night!" they chimed happily, not really bothering to look up from their new toys.

Putting her arm around his neck, Spot led Rae towards the staircase and up to her room. "You get some sleep," he instructed as she climbed into bed.

"Yes sir." she mumbled as she dozed off.

He gave her a concerned look and then headed out of the room.

~*~

Rae woke sometime later and attempted to crawl out of bed, only to collapse heavily to the floor.  She bit back a curse and tried to stand back up, but collapsed again.

From his room, Spot heard the thump from Rae's room and went to go investigate. He entered her room to see her on the verge of tears on the floor.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I can't get my balance, my head feels like it weighs a ton, the room is spinning...among other things." she whispered.

"Stay in bed," he ordered, pulling her to her feet.

He let go of her for a second and she fell to the floor again.  "If I could get in the bed I would." she muttered.

With a sigh, he scooped her up and put her in bed. "Now don't try getting up again."

"But I can't sit around here all day and do nothing." she said, collapsing against the pillows.

"You can sleep and sleep and sleep some more. And finish that dress you were making for Ann."

She started to protest again, but stopped when she saw the look that he was giving her. "Fine. I'll stay...For a LITTLE WHILE longer, but then I'm getting up."

"We'll see," he replied, leaving the room.

She growled and threw a pillow at the door.

Spot heard the thump of the pillow on the door, opened the door back up, and threw the pillow back at her. "You're gonna need it."

* * *

Rae spent the rest of the day in bed, but when she woke up the next morning, she was determined to leave the room.  She stood up and fell to the floor again.  With a sigh, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and leaned against the bed.

Ann scooted into the room with a bowl of soup. "Miss Rae! Mr. Spot, Miss Rae fell!" She scuttled over to Rae and set down the soup. "Mr. Spot made this for you."

Rae sighed again as she heard Spot running up the stairs.

"What did I tell you about trying to get out of bed?" he asked.

"I'm tired of sitting in here. I want to go somewhere else."

He lifted her into his arms. "Fine. Where do you want to go?"

"Downstairs to the parlor."

He instructed Ann to take Rae's comforter, and he carried her downstairs.

He placed her on the couch and tucked the comforter around here. "Now stay here."

She sighed. It was still irritating that she had to sit, but at least it was a change of scenery. "All right."

"Ann, stay here and keep an eye on her, while I get her soup."

Ann nodded, eager to help, and crawled up next to Rae. "Now you stay here Miss Rae."

Rae couldn't help but laugh.  She pulled the girl closer to her. "Alright, Miss Ann. I'll stay right here."

She smiled, pleased.

Spot returned a moment later with the soup and pulled a low stool over to the couch.  He sat on it and handed her the bowl. "Eat!"

Rae, too tired to argue, took the bowl and began to sip at the soup. "This is good." she whispered, smiling at him.

He smiled proudly. "Course it is. I learned from the best."

Rae finished the soup and handed the bowl back to him. "I'm going back to sleep now." she said, burrowing under her quilt.

Spot nodded. "Come on kids, let's go play outside and let Rae rest." 

He sent Rae a look. "Don't move until I get back!"

"I won't, I won't," she murmured drowsily.

Spot walked onto the porch and sat on the steps watching as Ann and Andy played happily in the snow.  What was wrong with Rae? It didn't look like she was faking it... was it... The light suddenly went on in his head. Was it from when he threw her into the snow? She contracted the cold that quickly? Had she been feeling bad before then and that only made it worse?  He mentally kicked himself. He had spent those days locked away in either his room or the study, so he wouldn't have noticed. He couldn't help it... It was just consuming his life- his accident. 'Too much, you muttonhead,' he scolded himself. 'Couldn't even see your best friend was getting sick. Good going, Conlon.' Things were going to have to change. TODAY!

Then he was pelted with a snowball.

Forcing back a laugh he stood and walked over to where the two children stood giggling.  "Alright, who threw the snowball?" They both pointed at the other, repressing their giggles. "If you won't tell, I'll just get you both." he said, scooping up one child under each arm. They both squealed in delight.

He carried them across the yard and dumped them in a snow bank.  Dropping to the ground next to them he began to tickle them both. They both screeched, flailing about, giggling hysterically. Andy wriggled free and pounced on Spot, dragging him into the snow.

The three wrestled in the snow for a while longer before Ann crawled into Spot's lap and snuggled up against him. "I'm sleepy." she whispered.

Andy was still running around like a wild man. "All right. I think it's naptime for the both of you," Spot said.

"But, Mr. Spot, I'm not tired!" Andy protested.

"You will be." Grabbing Andy under one arm, he carried him into the house, leading a sleepy Ann after him.

After changing them both into dry clothes, he tucked them into the big bed in their room and went downstairs to check on Rae. If she was awake he had some apologizing to do.

He entered the parlor and found her asleep, buried in mounds of comforter.  Watching her, he smiled.

She woke up and looked up at him. "What are you staring at?" she asked with a yawn.

"You," he replied, sitting down on the stool in front of her. "Listen uh... Rae... I think... there's something I need to... tell ya."

She rolled over and pushed herself into a sitting position. "Ok. Go ahead."

"Well... I mean... it ain't easy for me to say... you know what I'm saying, right?"

She nodded slowly.

"Well... What I mean to say is... I'm.... I'm... ssssss..... I'm sorry... for hitting you. And being like I have been."

"I forgive you." she whispered.

"I don't know why," he replied. "You shouldn't... I mean... you didn't deserve to be hit."

"You asked me to leave you alone, but I wouldn't listen."

"That still doesn't give me grounds to hit you. You're my best friend. Best friends don't do that to one another."

"It doesn't matter any more. It's in the past and has been forgiven."

Spot studied her and then shrugged. "All right. If that's alright with you then."

"It's fine with me. Where are the twins?" she asked, realizing for the first time they weren't following him around like little shadows.

"Napping."

"They must have played hard."

He nodded. "Especially Andy. He was still buzzing around when I put him down."

She smiled.  "I wish I could have seen them out playing in the snow."

"You get better and you will."

She leaned her head back against the pillows. "I wish I knew what was wrong with me."

"I think it's partly my fault..." he admitted.

"What are you talking about?"

"Throwing you into the snow. In your nightgown..."

"Spot, you don't know that that had anything to do with this."

"Well, a fellow can guess about it, can't he? I mean, you may have been getting sick, but throwing you in the snow didn't help any."

"What's done is done."

After a moment, he nodded.

"Will you help me to the window? I want to look at the snow for a minute."

Spot nodded again and took her arm. "Careful, careful." Then he helped her to the window.

She leaned heavily against him. "It's so beautiful out here."

He nodded. "You'd never see that in Brooklyn."

"It's going to be hard going back to all that filth."

He looked at her. "Who said we had to go back?"

"We will. One day."

His gaze drifted back out the window. "I like it better here... even with all the rude townspeople."

"I do too, but part of me wants to go back."

"Why?"

"As strange as it sounds I miss it. I miss having to get up at the crack of dawn and work until after dark."

After a long moment, he replied, "I just miss everyone..."

"We can go back if you want."

He shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe some other time..."

"I want to go sit back down now." she whispered.

Nodding, glad for the subject to be off of Brooklyn, he led her to her seat.

"Did you ever finish that book?" she asked, settling herself on the couch

He shook his head. "No, not yet." 

"Would you mind bringing it to me so that I can finish it?"

With a nod, he trotted off to retrieve it. Then he handed it to her and sat next to her.

"Do you want me to read it out loud?"

He shook his head. "I'll just read it over your shoulder."

"Okay."

She opened the book to about the page they both happened to be on and began reading. Without realizing it, Spot slipped his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled into the nook it created, resting her head on his shoulder. And together they read until they fell asleep.

* * *

Ann and Andy woke refreshed and bounded down the stairs, stopping short when they saw their caretakers.

Andy was all prepared to wake them up but Ann pulled him back. "Miss Rae is sick. You don't wake up sick people."

"But Mr. Spot's not sick."

"But shhhhh!" she hissed. 

"I want to go play in the snow with Mr. Spot."

"Oh you made him tired!" Grabbing her brother's arm, she dragged him into the playroom that was in the makings.  "Let's just play here until they wake up," she said

"But!"

She whacked her brother with her doll. He yelled out in pain and tackled his sister. She screeched in surprise, trying to fend him off with her doll. Suddenly two strong hands pulled them apart. "What's going on in here?" Spot demanded.

"We were TRYING not to wake you up but Andy was being a meanie!" Ann replied.

He shook his head. "You were both fighting. Both of you march it back upstairs. Ann go to my room, Andy go to yours.  I'll be up to deal with you in a little while."

"But it was Andy's fault!" Ann wailed.

"Nah uh!" Andy yelped.

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" Spot yelled.

That startled them into silence and, obediently, they marched themselves up the stairs.

Spot sighed as he made his way back into the parlor. What was he going to do with them?

 "What was that all about?" Rae mumbled, still half asleep.

"They were fighting about something.  I sent them both upstairs."

Nodding vaguely, she dropped her head and was out within seconds. Now to deal with the twins. He sighed and walked up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Spot entered Andy's room first. He was sulking on a chair in the corner of his room. Spot smiled wryly to himself. 'Well, no need to tell him to go to the corner- he puts himself there himself,' he thought.

Spot walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Come here, Andy." he said.  Andy slowly stood and walked over to him. "Yes, sir?"

"Do you know why you're in trouble?"

Andy nodded slowly. "Cause I was fighting with Ann."

"Right. And we don't fight in this house."

"But... You and Miss Rae fight all the time..."

"That's different Andy."

"How come?"

Spot closed his eyes and sighed. How was he supposed to explain this? Andy stared at him expectantly, like five-year-olds tend to do. "Because Andy, Miss Rae and I argue.  You and Ann were fighting."

He scuffed his foot on the floor, pouting.

Spot reached out and tilted the boy's head, so that Andy was looking at him.  "Just because Miss Rae and I fight, doesn't mean that you and your sister can."

He sighed heavily. "Yes sir."

"Good."

"Can I go play now, Mr. Spot?"

Spot stood. "Go ahead."

He watched Andy scuttle from the room and then went to have a similar talk with Ann.

"Come here." he said, sitting on the edge of her bed, once in her room.

Ann sniffled and went over to him.

"Why did I send you up here?"

Ann sniffed. "'Cause me and Andy were fighting..."

            "No more fighting, alright?" Spot asked.  She nodded.  He scooped her up into his arms. "Come on, let's go back downstairs."

She nodded. "Okay."

"Let's go see if Miss Rae decided to wake up."

Ann grinned brightly. "'kay."

He set her on the floor once they were downstairs and went to check on Rae.

Ann wriggled to be let down and crept over to the couch to take peek at Rae.

"What's wrong with Miss Rae?" she asked, looking up at Spot.

"She's just a little sick" was his reply, though he himself didn't really know.

"But we'll make her all better, right?"

He smiled and ruffled her hair. Cute kid. "Of course we will."

She looked at Rae again, and then looked back up at him. "I'm hungry."

"All right, go get your brother. I'm sure you both want some lunch," he said. She nodded and skipped from the room.  Spot took one last look at Rae and noticed that she had woken back up. "Well, good afternoon. Hungry?"

She nodded. "A little."

Spot headed for the kitchen, paused, and asked, "What do you want?"

"Just some good hot soup. But... Spot?"

He glanced back. "Yeah?"

"Can I come sit in there while you fix it?"

He moved to deny her request, but the look she gave him made him sigh and agree. Walking over to her, he helped her stand up, draped her comforter around her shoulders and led her into the kitchen. "I don't want you revealing my soup secrets to anyone, got it?" he teased.

She giggled. "I won't."

* * *

The next day Spot walked into the parlor to find Ann snuggled up on the couch next to Rae, a book held between them.  "What are you two up to?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Ann looked up at him and grinned.  "Miss Rae's teachin' me to read."

Rae looked a little frazzled, as any teacher might, but the bright smile on Ann's face told Spot that she felt it was worth it.

Spot took a closer look at the book.  Ann pulled the book from Rae's hands and jumped to the ground, running over to him.  "Can I show you Mr. Spot? Please?"

He smiled at her enthusiasm. "Sure kiddo."

She grinned up at him and then turned to the book.  "On-once up-upon a ti-time, in a land fa-fa-far away,"

He nodded encouragingly.

Ann handed the book to him. "I'm going to go tell Andy." she said, skipping from the room.

Spot looked at the book cover and then at Rae. "Beauty and the Beast?" He laughed when she shrugged. "So you can read it over again, hmm?"

"Yes.  It was really good.  Besides, I didn't have any other books handy when she asked me."

A moment later Ann and Andy ran back into the room. "I wanna read!" Andy exclaimed.

Spot sat down on the couch next to Rae and pulled the two children up to join them.

Rae opened the book and flattened it across her lap and began to teach them both, with occasional input from Spot.

* * *

Spot walked into the kitchen a few days later to see Rae sitting on a stool reading something.

"New book?" he asked, peering over her shoulder to read a couple lines.

"Yes." she said, with a nod.

"It's time for dinner, just about."

"Alright." she said, continuing to read.  He pulled the book off the counter and closed it. "Hey! I was reading that Spot!"

"You can finish it later."

She gave him a look. "What do you mean?"

He handed her a wooden spoon. "Today my dear, you're gonna learn to cook."

She took the spoon. "But I don't want to." she protested.

"But of course you do. Come on, do you want to end up burning down houses for the rest of your life?"

She sighed in defeat.  "Fine!"

Spot gave her a grin. "It'll be fun."

"For you maybe." she muttered.

He chuckled, taking out some supplies. "We'll go simple."

She nodded.  "So what are we making, Oh Great One?"

"Biscuits. And we will try to make it so it is not like hardtack," he added, grinning impishly at her.

He began dumping things in a bowl and finally stepped back.  "Knead that for me." he said, turning to the sink.

"Huh?"

He turned back around and took her hands, sticking them in the bowl.  "Eww!" she said, when her hands hit the cold mess.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Milk, Flour, and a few other things." he said.  He stood behind her and reached around her, sticking his own hands in the dough.  "Like this." he said, pulling the dough from the outside of the bowl and pushing it toward the middle.

Rae made a face and mimicked his actions. "It feels like lumpy mud."

He laughed.  "You'll get used to it." he whispered in her ear.

"Is everything else like this?"

"Not all of it."

She smirked and then started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked tweaking her nose, and leaving a bit of dough on her nose.

"I don't know!"

Now it was his turn to laugh.

"What?" Then, crossing her eyes somewhat in order to glance at her nose, she saw a bit of dough there and swatted at him with a doughy hand.

He grabbed her wrist.  "Wipe those hands off, before you hit me."

She arched a brow. "Like you wiped your hands when you pinched my nose?" She smirked.

"Ah ha, but I'm the teacher here." he smirked.

She scrunched her nose, twisted her arms, and managed to smear some of the dough onto his arms anyway. He grabbed her before she could get away and twisted her around so that her back was against his chest.  He grabbed a handful of the dough and held it near her face.

"Don't you dare!" For some reason, she felt the urge to giggle.

"What? Do this?" He asked, smearing the dough on her face, with a laugh.

Rae yelped in surprise. Spot doubled over laughing and leaning against the counter, so hysterical he could barely stand.

"Are you laughing at me?" she demanded, turning to glare at him.

"No... no... 'course not," he sputtered, red faced, and laughing harder.

She heaved a sigh before she leaned over and kissed him.

That shut Spot up. He stared at her in surprise. "W-w-wh-what w-w-was t-th-that for?" he stuttered, blinking in surprise.

Rae stared at him, just as stunned. "I um... I don't know..." They stared at each other for a few minutes before Rae turned to the sink and began to wash the dough from her face. Her mind was racing. What had just happened? WHY did it happen? Wasn't there 'Sippi back home? Yes, 'Sippi, back in Brooklyn... Brooklyn...' She sighed.  She knew now what she must do.

* * *

The next morning, Spot stirred and awakened to the scent of something very delicious being cooked up. 'Breakfast?' he wondered. 'But who?' Rising to his feet, he padded out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

Rae was standing at the stove with her back turned to the door, the frilly apron tied around her waist.

"Well I declare. Rae Kelly, are you cooking?!"

She turned and gave him a half-smile.  "Yep. I figured you'd like a morning off. It's just about ready."

He sniffed the air. "Well, it smells delicious. I guess I did some pretty good teaching yesterday, hmm?"

"I guess so." she whispered, turning back to the stove.  "Will you set the table for me?"

"I guess I could do that." He went to pull some plates from the cupboard when he noticed a carpetbag on the floor. "What's that?"

Rae turned her head to see what he was asking about.  "Oh, that's mine." she whispered, removing the skillet from the stove.

He paused for a moment. "What... what's it doing out here for?"

She took off the apron and placed it on the counter. "I'm leaving, Spot."

"What? Why?"

"It's time for me to return to Brooklyn."

She moved to get around him, but he stepped in her way. "Why?"

"You don't need me anymore."

"Why do you think that?"

"You've gotten over your bitterness, Spot."

Spot gave her a strange look. "That's the only reason you came with me?"

"I came with you because you are my best friend and I couldn't stand the thought of you doing something to cause yourself further harm."

"Well why can't you stay?"

"Sippi should be back in Brooklyn by now.  I'm going to back to be with him." she admitted, turning away from him.

"Oh..." Spot nodded. "I see."

"Spot, please understand..."

"I do. I do..."

"You don't," she said, her voice wavering.

"Don't tell me what I understand Rae."

She turned to face him, her eyes filling with tears. "If you understood, then you'd be happy for me. This is what I want."

"I am happy for you Rae. I'm glad you get to go back." Then he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

She took a deep breath, and swiped at her eyes.  She followed him out into the hallway and placed a hand on his shoulder.  He turned and looked at her.  She stood on her toes and kissed his scarred cheek. "Goodbye Spot." she whispered, before turning and running into the kitchen, grabbing her carpetbag and leaving, never once looking back.

Spot stood there. Never in a million years would he have guessed that she actually intended to leave him... right then! He was immobile. His best friend... was gone!

* * *

That day had been a difficult one.  After finding out that Rae had left the twins had both thrown fits and had been ornery and cranky all day long. And Spot was short on patience to begin with. He about lost it a few times. At the moment, Ann and Andy were in separate rooms, and Spot was relishing the calm quiet.

He sat in the parlor brooding when he happened to glance up at the clock. Bedtime for the twins. Rising to his feet, he made the dreaded trudge upstairs. He was not looking forward to this. If their behavior today had been any forewarning, it would prove to be almost war getting them to bed.

"Bedtime!" he called. He was met with silence. "Ann! Andy! It's bedtime!" he yelled again Again, silence. He peeked into the room Ann was in. And she was fast asleep on the floor. Entering the room, he picked her up and placed her in the bed. Now to check on Andy.

Andy sat in the same chair that he had sat in after being punished days earlier, glaring daggers at the floor.

Spot stood in the doorway and folded his arms over his chest. "Time for bed Andy."

"I don't want to go to bed!"

"I don't care whether you want to or not. It's time for bed."

"NO!" Andy yelled.

Giving the boy a look, he thrust his finger towards the bed. "You. There. Now."

"NO! NO! NO!"

"Don't make me carry you over there," he threatened.

"I'M NOT GOING TO BED!"

Walking over to him, Spot grabbed him by the waist and carried him in the manner of a football, kicking and screaming, and dumped him in bed. Andy jumped from the bed and glared up at Spot.

With a frustrated sigh, Spot grabbed Andy's arm, gave him a firm swat on the butt and said, "Go back to bed."

Andy stared up at Spot in shock, but finally turned and silently crawled back into the bed.  Spot tucked the covers around him and sat on the edge of the bed.  "I'm sorry I had to do that Andy."

Andy whimpered and rolled onto his side.

"Goodnight Andy." Spot whispered, turning to head back downstairs.

"Night Mr. Spot," Andy echoed after a moment.

Spot wandered back down the stairs and back into the parlor.  He dropped onto the couch and threw his arm over his eyes. He really hoped it wasn't going to be like this everyday. Those kids... He sighed. Why couldn't Rae have stayed? ' 'Cause she loves  'Sippi,' he told himself with a frown. 'And why shouldn't she?'

* * *

Rae stood on the street outside the Brooklyn LH staring at the building.  She had been gone for nearly a month, what had everyone thought of her disappearance? Would they welcome her back?

The first to dash out of the lodging house was Jessica. She barreled into Rae. "I knew it! I knew it was you! They didn't believe me but I was right!"

Rae dropped her carpetbag and wrapped her arms around the little girl, shocked speechless.

"Where were you? Why were you gone so long? Why didn't you tell anyone?" She barraged her with questions, leading her into the house.

"I had some things I need to do Jecca." Rae said, looking around the room and into the faces of her friends.

Hades strolled up and gave her a once over.

"Hades..." Rae said, glancing at her friend.

"Rae..."

"I'm sorry for just disappearing like that."

"You should be. We were worried sick!" She embraced Rae tightly. "First Spot, then you! We thought some gang was picking us off!"

Rae returned the hug.  "I came back as soon as I could."

"Well where were you?!"

Rae shook her head. "I can't tell you."

Hades folded her arms over her chest and pouted somewhat. "And why not?"

"Hades, please just trust me.  I'll tell you when I can."

She harrumphed and then turned sideways a bit. "'Sip's back."

Rae looked around the room and didn't see him there. "Where is he?"

Hades jerked her thumb behind her. Mississippi was standing somewhat behind her. "Rae? You're back!"

She nodded, unable to speak as she gazed into his deep blue eyes.

He pulled her into a tight hug. "When I got back, I heard you were gone... Where'd you go?"

"I had some things to take care of." she said, smiling up at him.

"Where?" he asked.

She thought for a moment and laughed. "Ya know, I'm not really sure where it was."

He looked at her for a moment and then smiled. "Well, I'm just glad you're back." Sippi waited until she greeted all of her friends before he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Let's go for a walk."  She looked up at him and nodded.  They left the building and silently made their way to the docks.  Once they were on the docks he turned her to face him.  "Rae, before I left I told you that when I returned that I would ask you to be my girl.  I'm asking you now."

She blinked in surprise. She had forgotten all about it. She remained silent for a long time.

"Well?" 'Sippi asked, somewhat nervous now. "If this was a wrong time..."

"No, Sippi, it was the right time, it...I just....it took me by surprise."

'Sippi looked a little less glum and a little more hopeful. "Well? Would you... be my girl?"

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, Mississippi Wayne. I will be your girl."


	6. Chapter 6: The End

**Chapter 6:**

The twins had finally calmed down and started behaving tolerably to the point where Spot could take them outside to play in the snow. He watched them, brooding from the porch, as they built a snowman. But the house just wasn't the same anymore.  Sure there was still a lot of noise, but something was missing. If only he could figure it out.

He squinted his eyes out over the blinding white snow and smiled as Ann and Andy had given up on the snowman and were throwing handfuls of snow at each other. He silently scooped up two handfuls of snow and molded them into snowballs.  While the twins were distracted fighting he threw the snowballs at them, and pretended to be brooding again.

Shrieking, they looked at him. Both faces lighted up with grins. Mr. Spot had decided to play! They ran over to him and dragged him into the snow. They fought for a long time before Spot finally dragged them back inside.  After sending them to change into dry clothes he built a big fire in the fireplace in the parlor and spread some quilts on the floor.  When the twins came back in they dropped onto the quilts.  He wrapped quilts around their tiny shoulders dropped to the floor beside them.

After a long while, Ann looked at Spot. "Mr. Spot? Why can't we go get Miss Rae back?"

Spot sighed.  He should have expected this.  "Because we can't Ann."

"Why not?"

"Because Ann, people are afraid of me."

"We ain't," Andy piped in, sitting up next to his sister.

"I know Andy, but everyone else is afraid of me, because of the way my face looks."

"Did they tell you that?" Ann asked, eyes wide. 

"They didn't have to tell me Ann. I know what they are thinking."

"Well then, they're just mean to think that." She folded her arms over her chest.

"Are you sure there isn't some way we can go get Miss Rae?" Andy asked.

"I'm sure..."

* * *

Rae leaned against the rail of Brooklyn Bridge, staring into the muddy water rushing below as she brooded. She hadn't been quite this depressed in... well, she didn't know how long. She didn't even know if she had EVER been this depressed.

"Finished selling already?" Sippi asked, walking up behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and then towards the river again. "I didn't go selling... I had to do some thinking... 'Sippi, I need to talk to you."

"I needed to talk to you to." he said.

"You go first." she whispered quickly.

"Well, I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've decided that it was time to ask." He dropped to one knee. Rae's face paled, somehow knowing what he was going to ask, but at the same time not accepting it. "I love you... Rae Kelly, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "I can't," she whispered, turning to walk away.

"What?" He didn't understand. "Why?"

"I'm flattered that you would ask, but I don't love you in that way."

"I don't... understand..." He sighed. "But... I guess I have to."

"Sippi, I really do care for you, but not in that way. You deserve a girl that will love you with her whole heart.  I don't."

After a long pause, he nodded, murmured a "see you 'round," and walked off, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Rae collapsed against the railing with a sob.  What a maddening day this had turned into.

An hour had passed.  She couldn't just stay there, sitting on the bridge. She'd have to go back to the lodging house before nightfall…and face Sippi. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on the edge of the rail. Taking a deep breath and drying her tearstained face, she climbed to her feet and made the walk home.

Rae walked into the LH, dreading meeting Sippi and anyone else who he had happened to tell. Everyone at the LH had been expecting this since the day she and Sippi had first met.

           Even she had expected it…until it happened. And when it did…well, now she didn't want it. She greeted everyone. No one said anything to her about the proposal…How could no one have heard? She was certain that with the way news spread within the newsies community of Brooklyn, that everyone would have known within the hour 'Sippi had proposed. She smiled wanly as friends shared gossip with her. Turning away, she ran into Sippi.  "Oh…um, sorry," she replied, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

           'Sippi smiled at her. "It's okay." He said it in the same 'Sippi manner he would use with anyone, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice. He squeezed her shoulder. "Just don't let it happen again," he teased, before walking over to his sisters and brothers who where huddled on the floor in the midst of other Brooklyn newsies their ages.

Rae blinked in surprise. Having expected to be ignored, shunned, something totally negative, having his response be so normal caught her off guard. Confused now, she turned and headed up to the bunkroom. She changed into her nightgown and crawled up into her bunk. Had she been too hasty in saying no to his proposal?

           "I don't know," she murmured, pulling the covers up over her shoulders. "I just don't know."

* * *

The twins had gone to bed much easier that night, and for that, Spot was grateful.  They had asked the same question countless times throughout the day. "Why can't we go get Miss Rae,"  "Is Miss Rae gonna come home," and even at one point the far-fetched, "Did Miss Rae die?"

Spot sat down wearily on the couch in the parlor.  Surely this was all just a dream.  Some nightmare that he would soon wake from.  Surely Rae was upstairs in her room tucked under her covers, reading until she had fallen asleep, as she had done so many nights that she had been here.  That's it.  She wasn't really gone, she was just in her room reading, having lost track of time again.

He stood and slowly climbed back up the stairs.  He headed for Rae's room and knocked softly on the door.  Hearing no answer he opened the door slowly.  His heart sank when he saw that the room was empty.  He walked into the room and sank onto the edge of the bed.  It wasn't a dream. It was all real.  She was really gone.  As he stood to leave something on the bedside table caught his attention.  He turned and saw a book laying on the table.  He picked it up and gently ran his fingers over the cover.  He turned the book to read the title. Beauty and the Beast.  He smiled. She had read it yet again, before leaving.  What did she find so interesting about this book that she could read it over and over again?  He walked back into his room and threw himself on the bed.  Maybe it was time that he finished reading the book.

* * * 

Rae awoke the next morning to a clear- but cold- bright day. Pretty much the opposite of her mood. She dressed slowly for the day and went through the rest of her morning routine silently. She saw 'Sippi a few times and he waved at her and smiled. 'Maybe I should have said yes to him... I must have just been letting my mood affect my judgment. I mean... he really does care about me.'

She walked silently to the distribution center, not really hearing the rest of the newsies in their usual morning chatter.  She bought her papers without saying a word.  She stood on her corner, silently, lost in thought.

"Miss Rae!" shrieked two very familiar voices. Turning, she saw none other than Ann and Andy racing towards her. She knelt down just in time to catch them both in her arms. By the time she recovered from the shock of them finding her, they were chattering excitedly with one another.

"How in the world did the both of you get here?"

"Mr. Spot brought us." the said in unison.  

"What?" Rae asked, in even more shock. She hadn't seen him with them.

"We're here to bring you home!" Ann chirped.

"I AM home you two. Brooklyn is my home."

"No it isn't," a voice said behind her.

Slowly, she turned and saw Spot standing behind her with his hands casually tucked in his pockets. She folded her arms over her chest. "So, His Highness decides to grace us with his presence?"

He sighed and stared at her. "I had something I needed to get. We're leaving right after.

"So I figured," she frowned. She couldn't explain it, but seeing Spot again had completely lifted her mood... only to crush it again when he said he was leaving again. "Typical Conlon style. You can't stay around for the night?"

"Depends. It make take me a while to get what I need."

"What could you possibly need that you couldn't have just written me to send you?" she demanded.

"I knew that if I didn't come here, it'd never get to me."

"What did you come for?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"The one I love." 

She glanced around before realizing that his eyes were clearly fixed on her. "What... are you saying, Spot?"

"I've found out the way the book ends, Rae.  I've found my true love and now I've come to claim her."

"Book?" she repeated blankly. She knew what was happening, but it didn't register for some reason.

Spot smiled. "This beast has come for his beauty."

She stared at him in stunned silence, which he was left to assume as rejection. His face fell somewhat- closed up, emotionless, often typical of the leader of Brooklyn.

"Come on kids," he said. "Let's go.  We have just enough time to catch the next train home."

As realization suddenly sank in- she loved him. She, Rae Kelly, loved Spot Conlon. She stepped after him, a smile growing on her face. "I didn't know the leader of Brooklyn gave up so easily. Are you sure you're him?"

He turned and looked at her, his angry glare melting as he saw her smile.  "Woman, you are going to be the death of me."  

"Oh am I now?" she asked.  

He shook his head, trying to suppress his laughter.  "Come here you," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Make this beast a happy man and marry me."

Rae seriously considered this. Slowly she smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'll marry you."

He placed his hand on her cheek.  "I love you, Rae." he whispered.

She smiled, taking his hand. "I love you too, Spot." 

Rae felt a small tug on her shirt. She looked down at Ann and Andy, who she had momentarily forgotten about.  "Does this mean you are coming home, Miss Rae?" Ann asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm coming home with you."

The twins cheered and danced around the two adults they had come to love.  Rae laughed at them and then turned to Spot.  "Will you come back with me to gather my stuff and say my goodbyes?"

Spot paused uncertainly. "But..."

She gave him a look. "It will be fine. I promise."

With a sigh, he nodded.

She smiled at him, "Come on." she said, taking his hand. And off to the lodging house they went.

Spot stopped her just outside the lodging house. "Rae, I'm not so sure about this..."

"I told you it'd be fine. Now come on." Seizing his arm, she dragged him into the lodging house. "Hey everyone! Look who's back!"

A dozen heads turned. And silence reined supreme.

Spot closed his eyes, waiting for it to be over.

"Spot Conlon, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Hades yelled suddenly, and the room practically exploded with a flurry of activity as they all rushed to greet him.

"What happened?" "Are you alright?" and other similar questions could be heard throughout the room.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he replied.

Lil' Bit stood up, walked over to him, and gently touched his face. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"Not anymore." he said, looking at Rae.

She glanced between the both of them. "What happened to it? Did Rae soak you real bad?"

"LIL'BIT!" everyone, including Spot, yelled.

Rae laughed. 

Spot looked over at Rae and she gave him a reassuring nod.  "I was working in a factory, Bit.  There was an accident."

"Why didn't you tell us Spot?" Jecca piped up.

"Yeah," Snipeshooter agreed, "And why didn't you tell us you were working at a factory?"

"I should have.  But I was too ashamed. Both by the fact that I had to get another job and because of the way my face looked after the accident."

"Well that was stupid," Hades snorted.

"Exactly what I told him," Rae replied.

"Wait... you knew?"

Rae nodded.  "I've known for a month now.  That's what I couldn't tell you about."

"You were with him the whole time?!"

"That's what I couldn't tell you."

"You two are gonna start influencing my newsies to leave!" Throwing her hands in the air, Hades she shook her head, and smirked. "If you do it again, let us know!"

"Well, actually..." Spot started, but stopped to look at Rae.

"You tell them," she whispered.

He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his side.  "Rae and I are going to get married and then we are leaving again."

Stunned silence filled the room.

"No way!" Snipeshooter yelled. "YOU and RAE?!"

"Yes Snipes." Rae said with a smile.  "Me and Spot."

Lil' Bit jumped to her feet, shrieking, "A wedding! A wedding! There's gonna be a wedding!" before giving Rae and Spot bone crushing hugs. "I just knew it!"

Rae suddenly gasped and turned to Spot. "Where are Ann and Andy?"

His eyes widened. "I... I don't know..." Shrieks sounded behind them and they whipped around to see Ann and Andy playing tag with 'Sippi's younger siblings.

Rae laughed. "I told you they adjust well."

He smiled. "I guess they do."

Sippi suddenly pushed his way through the crowd and out the front door.  Rae hadn't even noticed that he was in the room.

Spot had followed her gaze. "What's wrong with... Oh boy..." He glanced at Rae. "I forgot he liked you..."

"I should go talk to him." Rae whispered.

With a nod, he squeezed her hand. 

Rae sighed and followed Sippi out into the street.  She found him standing on the docks, staring out over the water.

"You're marrying Spot?" he asked after a long pause, not even bothering to turn around.

"Yes." she whispered softly.

"Why did you agree to be my girl if you loved Spot?"

Rae sighed.  "When I came back, I didn't realize that I loved him.  I thought I loved you. It wasn't until the day you proposed that I realized that I wasn't in love with you.  When I saw Spot today I realized that he was the one I loved.  I'm sorry I hurt you Sippi."

He sighed. "I know... you couldn't help it... I can't expect to compete against Spot."

She sighed and turned to walk away.

"Rae...?"

She glanced back at him.

He smiled sadly. "Good luck with Spot."

"Thank you." she whispered, turning to leave again.  She walked back to the lodging house and sat quietly beside Spot on the couch as he sat talking with some of the newsies.

Spot glanced at her. "How'd it go?"

"It went alright." she whispered.  

"So what are your plans after you get married?" Hades asked.

"Well," Spot said looking at Rae. "We've got some money, so I figured we'd take a little trip, before going back to our house."

"YOU have money to take a trip? From where?!"

"It was kinda left to us." Rae answered.

"Where are you planning on going?"

"We are just going to pick a boat and see where it takes us." Spot answered, looking at Rae for approval.

She nodded with a smile. "Perfect."

"Are you going to take the runts with you?" Hades asked, pointing to Ann and Andy, we were coming over to join Rae and Spot on the couch.

"Hey!" they both protested.

Spot and Rae laughed. "Yes, I think we will take them with us."

Rae pulled Ann into her lap and hugged the girl tightly. "I couldn't imagine leaving them behind."

THE END!!!

A note from Rae:  Thank you all so much for reading our little fic.  I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY WONDERFUL CO-WRITER RABBIT! SHE'S AWESOME YA'LL!  We have already decided on what our next fic will be. It is to be a sequel to this fic, titled "Swiss Family Conlon".  Once again we have provided you with a little teaser.

_The sea was amazingly calm after the storm of the last two days.  In fact looking at it now you would never have guessed that the storm had been that bad, unless of course you happened to see the ship that had wrecked on the uninhabited island. Deep within the bowels of the ship lay four people.  The youngest two lay sleeping peacefully, unaware of the fate that had befallen them, while the other two had been knocked unconscious by the tossing ship.___


End file.
